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STATISTICAL SURVEY 



OF THE 



COUNTY OF CLARE, 

WITH 

OBSERVATIONS 

ON THE 

MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT; 

PRAWN UP FOR THE CONSIDERATION, AND BY DIRECTION 

OF THE 

DUBLIN SOCIETY* 



BY HELY DUTTON, 

VEMBF.R OF THE FARMING SOCIETY OF IRELAND, AND AUTHOR OF 

OBSERVATIONS ON CAPTAIN ARCHER'* STATISTICAL 

SURVEY OF THE COUNTY OF DU'BLlN. 



Oh that mine adversary had written a book." — Job, 



^©©eeso^- 



DUBLIN: 

PRINTED BY GRAISBERRY AND CAMPBELL, 10, BACK-LINE, 
POINTERS TO THE DUBLIN SOCIETY. 

-■- »**N\v=— ■ 

1808. 



TO THE READER. 



This REPORT is at present printed and circulated 
for the purpose merely of procuring further infor- 
mation, respecting the state and husbandry of this 
district, and of enabling every one interested in the 
welfare of this country to examine it fully, and con- 
tribute his mite to its improvement. 

The Society do not deem themselves pledged to any 
opinion given by the Author of this Survey ; and they 
desire, that nothing contained in it be considered as 
their sentiments ; they have only published it, as the 
Report of the gentleman, whose name is affixed, and 
they publish it for the comments and observations of 
all persons, which they entreat to be given freely, and 
without reserve. 

It is therefore requested, that the observations on 
reading this work may be returned to the Dublin 
Society, as soon as may be convenient, and which will 
meet with the fullest attention in a future edition. 



•ot. 



^ 



PREFACE. 



HAD I not considered myself bound to 
fulfil my promise to the Dublin Society, this 
Survey of the County of Clare would never 
have been published; that ungracious, illiberal 
silence, with regard both to the hundreds of 
letters I wrote, and to the reiterated verbal 
applications I made, (and which to the dis- 
grace of Ireland is complained of in almost 
every Survey, that has been published,) would 
otherwise have urged me, at an early period, 
to decline all further progress. Some, to whom 
I applied, (whose rank in life should have 
placed them above such gross ignorance,) asked 
me what a Survey was, what was it about, 
&c. and some very wittily wished to know, 
was it to take an account of all the pigs in 
a 2 Ennis 



iv PREFACE. 

Ennis or Killaloe, or the number of turf-kishes 
in the streets of Ennis, with a multitude of 
other remarks equally sagacious and liberal. 
With the most sanguine hopes of success I 
wrote and applied to many of the clergy, who 
from their local knowledge, liberal education, 
habit of putting their thoughts on paper, and 
great leisure, were, I fondly imagined, perfectly 
competent to give me the fullest information. 
The only written answers I received are de- 
tailed in the work ; I need not disgust the 
reader with a repetition. Had I the good 
fortune to have found the majority of the 
clergy as liberal as the Rey. Mr. Graham, 
curate of Kilrush, the Survey would make 
a very different appearance, and would be 
more free from those errors, which must, 
I deplore, be found in the work. Were I 
possessed of that useful confidence of the son 
of a celebrated agricultural author, who was 
in this county from England a few years since, 
I might possibly have gleaned more informa- 
tion ; but, as I found at an early period, that 
his queries were usually ridiculed, and his man- 
ner of stopping a person, whilst at dinner, until 

he 



PREFACE. v 

he took his notes, not at all relished, and 
that a preconcerted plan had been laid by 
some gentlemen to humbug him, it became 
necessary to use some caution in taking 
notes/ indeed on agricultural subjects very 
few notes would suffice, for they occu- 
pied the least of the conversation after dinner, 
and any questions to that effect were either 
evaded, or received so coolly that I generally 
desisted. 

To simplify the business as much as pos- 
sible, the queries are divided into fifty-two parts, 
and in such plain language, that the most ig- 
norant farmer in the county could comprehend 
them. I was weak enough to imagine that, 
when I produced my commission from the Dublin 
Society, I would have been favoured with half 
an hour's conversation, whilst I took notes of 
their answers, but this I found very few in- 
clined to do. To many eminent graziers I 
applied for information on the interesting subject 
of cattle, but I soon discovered I was not to 
expect much but praises of their own breed, 
accompanied with illiberal remarks (which they 
thought very witty) on the Farming Society of 

Ireland. 



vi PREFACE. 

• Ireland. They seemed to be totally ignorant 
of the distinctions between the different breeds 
of animals ; no discrimination, no knowledge of 
the value of green food, &c. &c. In short they 
could listen to nothing, or talk of nothing 
but their own breed (certainly a very good 
one) ; size, size, size, was every thing, and an 
encrease of that seemed to be the only desi- 
deratum. I am "perfectly convinced that, if a 
pair of long horns could be placed on the big 
head of a thick-limbed Holderness bull, he would 
be preferred to the Marquis of Sligo's Brown 
Jack. 

To the few following gentlemen, who inte- 
rested themselves, I feel every grateful sentiment; 
Sir Edward O'Brien, Boyle Vandeleur, Esq. 
Bindon Blood, Esq. Robert Crowe, Esq. of 
Nutfield, (not Mr. Crowe, agent to the Marquis 
of Thomond and the Earl of Egremont) Francis 
Owen, Esq. and Mr. Kenny of Newmarket. 
Mr. Crowe and Mr. Owen were so kind as 
to give me in writing much valuable infor- 
mation, and my readers have cause to join me 
in the regret, which I feel, that I had not the 
pleasure of knowing Mr. Crowe sooner. Se- 
veral 



PREFACE. vu 

veral other gentlemen I teazed into something 
like information, but as a horse-laugh fre- 
quently accompanied it, I considered it apo- 
cryphal. At a very early period Mr. Molony 
of Kiltannon, who formerly had undertaken the 
survey, promised to give me copious written 
answers to my queries, but after various pro- 
mises I found it was vox et -praeterea nihil. 
Such of the Roman Catholic clergy, as I ap- 
plied to, I found even anxious to procure me 
every information, and I feel a singular gra- 
tification in acknowledging the urbanity, with 
which the Rev. Mr. Barret, titular Dean of 
Killaloe, conveyed much valuable information. 

I have also great pleasure in stating the 
extreme readiness I found in the farmers and 
lower classes of society to give me in detail 
many things their landlords seemed to be to- 
tally ignorant of. I regret to have to remark, 
that with a few exceptions the gentlemen of 
this county, in common with too many of those 
of some other counties, neither know, nor seem 
to care much, how their cottier tenants live, 
so as they come to work, when they are 
wanted \ the occupation of their other hours is 

never 



viii PREFACE. 

never inquired after ; I found the men of this 
class infinitely more intelligent than those in 
a higher sphere. 

On perusing the suggestions for enquiry, 
published by the Dublin Society for the di- 
rection of those, who may undertake the Sur- 
veys of Ireland, it will be easily perceived, what 
a complicated and arduous task they have 
committed into their hands, and what an active 
co-operation of the inhabitants of the counties 
is necessary to enable them to convey such 
information, as will enable the Dublin Society 
to draw up a general statistical report of Ire- 
land. One would scarcely think it possible, yet 
so it is, that any person could be weak enough to 
imagine, that mere curiosity could prompt a 
Society, that have for upwards of sixty years 
devoted their attention so very happily to the 
advancement of agriculture and other useful 
sciences, to institute this inquiry/ When we 
advert to the many branches of science, that 
are embraced, including mineralogy, botany, 
political economy, that most difficult one agri- 
culture, a knowledge of cattle, &c. &c. so far 
from expecting any thing like perfection, we 

should 



PREFACE. ix 

should be surprized, if every Report was not 
much farther removed from it than they are, 
especially when it is known, that in almost 
every Survey, that has been published, com* 
plaints are made of withholding information, 
and of that most unpardonable, ungenfkmanlike 
insult of neglecting to acknowledge letters ; no 
rank in life v/arrants this meanness. Even in 
the last Survey, that has been published, that 
of the county of Kildare, though written by a 
gentleman, possessing from his high respecta- 
bility of character and fortune, as well as from 
his being treasurer of the county, and a con- 
stant resident, every influence, that should en- 
title him to attention to his letters, yet what 
are his words in the preface ? "He had hun- 
u dreds of letters printed and circulated, stating 
" the desires of the Society, and requesting 
" communications on the subjects committed to 
" him ; he has not to acknowledge the smallest 
" information" After this I can scarcely have 
a right to complain of the gross neglect, 
with which my applications have been treated; 
I trust and hope I shall not have the same 
complaint to make of the gentlemen of the 

b county 



x PREFACE. 

county of Gal way,, amongst whom I expect a 
continuance of that politeness and intelligence, 
which I have formerly experienced ; I have no 
fears on this head from the inhabitants of that 
county. 

Many may deem some of my strictures too 
severe, especially those on read-jobbing, and 
on tithes and the clergy. The enormity of 
the first is so great, that I would ill deserve 
the confidence the Dublin Society have ho- 
noured me with, if I declined the task, and I 
hope it wi}i be believed, when I profess it has 
been to me a most disagreeable one. If I 
have stated any thing erroneous on the other 
subjects, it must be" imputed to that ignorance, 
in which the silence of the clergy has left 
me. From those few worthy and truly revc- 
rend clergymen of this county, whose good 
opinion is worth obtaining, I have no fears 
for any thing I have written, and the anger 
of those, who could be influenced by the veto 
of a layman, ancl who preach that christian 
charity, which they do not practise, I heartily 
despise. I never can be brought to think (as 
too many of them seem to do) that a mono- 

tonous, 



PREPA& u 

tonoiis, cold-hearted sermon once a • week is the 
only duty they have to perform, or that it will 
ever make a protestant divine beloved or res- 
pected. I trust those, to whom I am known* 
will exonerate me from that infidelity, which 
has been generally imputed to those, who have 
dared to meddle with the clergy, however pro* 
fane. I hope it will be allowed, that a firm 
belief in the glorious truths of the gospel is 
not incompatible with a detestation of the 
vices of some of its professors. 

It has been urged by more than one, that 
I have not made personal applications. It un- 
fortunately often happened, that at a time I 
could have waited on many gentlemen they 
were far from home. Sometimes I have been 
informed, that they had a house-full of com- 
pany, and in a county possessing only three or 
four tolerable inns, and in remote situations 
not any, visits without a previous intimation 
were very hazardous. From some of these 
very complainants I received no answer to my 
letters to say, when they would be at home; 
in fact from what I have experienced I can 
b 2 consider 



consider these accusations in no other light 
than as an excuse fof indolence. 

Amongst many others I made a personal ap- 
plication to Mr. Young near Quin, explaining 
the nature of my pursuits (I was introduced 
to him twice before) and requesting informa- 
tion ; his only answer, after hesitating some 
time and a vacant stare, was humph ! and he 
very politely stepped into his coach box, and 
drove his family home from the church of 
Quin, where I had the misfortune to disturb 
his reveries. 

I have purposely avoided the description of 
gentlemen's seats ; I certainly could not, like 
the Post-chaise companion, see beauties in every 
petty place, that the partiality of their pro- 
prietors prompted them to do ; were I to de- 
scribe the very few places, that are really pretty,. 
I should throw so many into the back ground, 
that I thought it prudent to be silent. The 
riches of the county certainly have not been 
lavished on the ornament or improvement of 
demesnes j more has been done in the county 
©f Galway in ten years than here for half a 

century. 



PREFACE. xm 

century. I beg leave to advise gentlemen, be'forc 
they begin to improve, to procure the very 
tasteful superintendance of Mr. Roach, and not 
pursue their own whims, which they dignify with 
the name of taste. 

On the fruitful subjects of irrigation and 
draining I was obliged to be concise ; their im- 
portance in this county, where they are scarcely 
known, is very great indeed; they would, if con- 
ducted with judgment and spirit, change the 
features of those dreary absentee tracts, that 
occupy so large a portion of the county, to 
3miling harvests and verdant fields. 

Next to the improvement of the soil the 
mineral productions claim the marked attention 
of the proprietors ; those of the first necessity 
have been discovered in great abundance, such 
as coal, iron, lead, manganese, limestone, &c, 
but the puny attempts, that have been for- 
merly made by sinking a few feet, will never 
bring to light those treasures, that a bountiful 
providence has placed on the sea-shore; they 
must be confided to scientific hands, that will not 
be paralised by unsteadiness or parsimony in the 
employer. 

The 



xiv PliEFACE. 

The necessary limits to a work of this na- 
ture prevented me from saying more on the 
subject of planting ; had I indulged my wishes 
on this favourite and (in this county) neglected 
topic, a volume much larger than the whole 
Survey would not contain my ideas, especially 
when I reflected on its great importance to a 
county so completely denuded as Clare. 

It must be evident to the most superficial 
observer, that many other subjects, particularly 
those of green crops, ploughing, liming, im- 
provement of waste lands, &c. &c. in all which 
this county is miserably deficient, could not 
consistently with propriety be more enlarged; 
for, notwithstanding what has been already 
written by English agriculturists, the subject 
Is by no means exhausted. 

A gentleman of this county formerly ob- 
jected to my appointment to make the Survey, 
and called me the Arthur Young of Ireland. 
I feel myself so infinitely removed from any 
pretensions to the celebrity of that great and 
useful agriculturist, that, had it been intended 
as a compliment, I should have considered it 
too gross for acceptance ; but, as it was in 

tended 



\ 



PJREFACE. xt 

tended as a reproach, I feel proud in being 
joined with one, who has so ably detailed the 
abuses of middlemen, and their oppression of 
the lower classes of society ; on these topics I 
claim kindred with Mr. Young, to whom I owe 
much for making me think on many points 
in agriculture, that would otherwise have es- 
caped my attention, and, as Mr. Kirwan says 5 
" to whose labours the world is more indebted 
for the diffusion of agricultural knowledge than 
to any writer, who has yet appeared." 

It is extraordinary, how little interest the gen- 
tlemen of this county, and indeed of every 
other in Ireland, take in any publication in- 
tended to promote the improvement of their 
country. I do not think there are three houses 
in the county, that have any of the Statis- 
tical Reports ; one would imagine, that even 
curiosity to see, what was doing in other 
counties, would prompt them to obtain them ; 
indeed, except Taplin's Farriery, Glasse's Cpolc- 
ery, and Maw's Calendar, I scarcely ever saw 
a book but in the houses of the few, who 
have seen the world y the generality are as igno- 
rant of the practices of the next county as they 

are 



xvi PREFACE. 

are of those of Russia. With the greatest diffi- 
culty the author of a Survey will sel- perhaps 
two or three hundred copies, whilst such ephe- 
meral productions as Cotchecutchoo, the Metro- 
polis, &c. shall run through several thousand 
copies and several editions ; so much more 
profitable is it for an author to amuse than 
instruct. A dancing master of eminence will 
receive three or four guineas per day, payed 
with pleasure, whilst an improver of land shall 
with a grudge be paid half- a- guinea. I was 
advised to try the pulse of the county by 
receiving subscriptions in Ennis; the experiment 
was tried en a fair day, when all the men of 
any property were assembled, and though a 
gentleman universally known and respected was 
so kind as to make personal applications, and 
the subscription book remained open for up- 
wards of three months, twenty-eight persons ! 
subscribed their names, and sixteen paid their 
subscriptions. 



SUGGESTIONS 



SUGGESTIONS OF INQUIRY 

FOR GENTLEMEN, WHO SHALL UNDERTAKE THE FORMING 

OF 

AGRICULTURAL SURVEYS. 

GEOGRAPHICAL STATE AND CIRCUMSTANCES, 

Situation and extent, 

Divisions, 

Climate, 

Soil and surface, 

Minerals. 

AGRICULTURE. 

Mode of culture, 

Extent of it, and of each species of grain sowed, 

Course of crops, 

Use of oxen — how harnessed, 

Nature and use of implements of husbandry, 

Markets for grain, 

Use of green food in winter. 



PASTURE. 
Nature of it, 
Breed of cattle — how far improved, 

c Breed 



xviii SUGGESTIONS 

Breed of cattle — how far capable of further improvement. 

Markets or fairs for them, 

General prices, 

Modes of feeding — how far housed in winter, 

Natural grasses, 

Artificial grasses, 

Mode of hay-making, 

Dairies — their produce, 

Prices of hides, tallow, wool, and quantity sold. 



FARMS. 

Their size, 

Farm houses and offices, 

Mode of repairing them, whether by landlord or tenant, 

Nature of tenures, 

General state of leases, 

■ of particular clauses therein-, 

Taxes or cesses paid by tenants, 

Proportion of working horses or bullocks to the size of farms> 

General size of fields, or enclosures, 

Nature of fences, 

Mode of hedge-rows, and keeping hedges, 

Mode of draining, 

Nature of manures. 



GENERAL SUBJECTS. 

Population, 

Number and size of villages and towns, 

-Habitation^ 



OF INQUIRY. xix 

Habitation, fuel, food, and cloathing of the lower rank — 

their general cost, 
Prices of wages, labour, and provisions, 
State of tithe, its general amount on each article — what 

articles are exempt, and what charged by modus, 
Use of beerand spirits — whether eitheror which is increasing, 
State of roads, bridges, &c. 

of navigations and navigable rivers, 

» of fisheries, 

of education, schools, and charitable institutions, 

of absentee and resident proprietors, 

of circulation of money or paper, 

of forming or agricultural societies, 

of manufactures, whether increasing, 

of encouragement to them, and the peculiar aptness 

of the situation for their extension, 

« of mills of every kind, 

of plantations and planting, 

of the effects of the encouragemeut heretofore given to 

them by the Society, particularised in the list annexed, 

• of any improvements which may occur for further 

encouragement, and particularly for the preservation 
of the trees, when planted, 

of nurseries within the county and extent of sales, 

Price of timber, and state of it, in the county, 
Quantity of bog and waste ground, 

Possibility and means of improving it, 
Obstacles to it, and best means of removing them, 
Habits of industry, or want of industry, among the people, 

c. 2 The 



xx SUGGESTIONS, &c. 

The use of the English language, whether general, or how 

far increasing, 
Account of towers, castles, monasteries, ancient buildings, 

or places remukable for any historical event, 
Churches — resident clergy, glebes and glebe houses, 
Whether the county has v been actually surveyed, when 

and whether the survey is published, 
Weights and measures, liquid or dry — in what instances 

are weights assigned for measures — or vice versa. 
The weight or measure, by which grain, flour, potatoes, 

butter, &d. are sold. 



CONTENTS, 



CONTENTS. 



CHAP. I. 






GEOGRAPHICAL STATE AND CIRCUMSTANCES. 








Page 


Sect. 1. Situation and Extent 


. • 


1 


2. Divisions 


p • 


2 


3. Climate 


„ t 


ib. 


4. Soil arid Surface ■. 


« • 


6 


5. Minerals , . 


• • 


13 


6. Water 


» * 


22 


CHAP. II. 











AGRICULTURE, 






Sect 


, 1, 


Mode of culture 


• 


35 




2. 


Course of crops i 


. 


44 




3. 


Use of Oxen, and how harnessed 


• 


55 




4. 


Nature and use of Implements 


of 








husbandry 


. 


60 




5. 


Markets for Grain . 


• 


67 




6. 


Use of green food in winter 


• 


72 



CHAP. III. 



"PASTURE. 

Sect. 1. Nature of it , . .76 

2. Breed of Cattle— how far improved, 
and how far capable vf further im- 
provement . , . .85 

Markets 



xxii CONTENTS. 

Page 
Markets or Fairs for them , . . 96 
List of Fairs . . . .104 

Sect. 3. General prices . . .107 

4. Modes of feeding, and how far housed 

in xv inter . . . ,110 

5. Natural grasses . . .115 

6. Artificial grasses . -, .120 

7. Mode of hay-making . .125 

8. Dairies — their produce and manage- 

ment . . . .129 

9. Prices of hides, tallow, wool, and quan- 

tity sold . '. . .132 

% 

CHAP. IV. 
FARMS. 

Sect. l. Their size . . . .135 

2. Farm-houses and Offices . .142 

3. Nature of tenures, general state of 

teases, and particular clauses therein 145 

4. Taxes or cesses paid by tenants . 1 48 

5. Proportion of working horses and 

or en to the size of farms . ib. 

6. General size of fields and inch sure s . 149 
1. Nature offences . . .150 
8.. M ode of draining . . .155 
f. Nature of manures . . .156 

CHAP. V. 

GENERAL SUBJECTS. 
SfiCT. I. Population . . . .167 

. 2. Number and size of tozims and villages 1 69 

Sect. 



contents: xxUi 

Page 
Sect. 3. Habitations, fuel, food, and clothing 
of the lower rank, and their general 
cost . . . .173 

4. Prices of 'wages, labour, and provisions 181 

5. State of Tithe — its general amount . 186 

6. Use of beer or spirits, whether either 

or which is increasing . . 205 

7. State of roads, bridges, &c. Kc. . 207 

8. Navigations and navigable rivers . 220 

9. State of fisheries . . . 227 
10. of education — schools, and chari- 
table institutions . . .235 

1 1 . of non-resident and resident pro- 
prietors .... 240 

12. of circulation of money or paper 247 

13. of farming or agricultural so- 
cieties . . ' , 248 

14. f manufactures — whether en- 
creasing . . . .259 

J 5. tf mills of every kind . .266 

16". of plantations and planting . 26? 

17. of the effects of encouragement 

heretofore given by the Dublin Soci- 
ety, particularised in the annexed 
list, and any improvement, which 
may occur for future encouragement, 
particularly for the preservation of 
trees when planted . . .277 

18. of nurseries in the county, and 

extent of sales . . . 2SI 

19. Price of timber, and state of it in the 

county , . . .283 

Sect. 



xxiv CONTENTS. 



Pag« 



Sect. 20. Quantity of bog arid waste ground— 
the possibility and means of improv- 
ing them, and the obstacles to their 
improvement . . \ 286 

21. Habits of industry, or want of it 

amongst the people . .298 

22. Use of the English language, whether 

general, or how far encr easing . 302 

23. Account of towers, castles, SCc. or places 

remarkable for any historical event . 304: 

24. List of Parishes . . . 320 

25. Abbeys .... 323 
Ecclesiastical divisions of the Diocese 

ofKillaloe . . . .340 

Resident Clergy . . .349 

Pillar-stones, Kc. . .351 

26. Whether the county has been actually 

surveyed? . . . .353 

27. Weights and measures, liquid or dry ; 

in what instances are weights assigned 
for measures, or vice versa ? .355 

28. Morals, manners, and customs of the 

people .... 358 

29. Concluding Observations . .365 
APPENDIX l 



STATISTICAL 



= 



= 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



OF THE 



COUNTY OF CLARE. 



— *»e9$@!»>ee«a- — 

CHAPTER I. 

Sect. 1. Situation and Extent, 

1 HIS County was anciently called Thomond or 
Tuadmuin, that is North Munster. In the year 
1565 it was made a county, and added to Con- 
naught, but was restored to Munster in the year 
1602. It was also called O'Brien's country, from 
the numbers and influence of that family, which 
still continue, Sir Edward O'Brien being one of 
the representatives in parliament. At Ennis the 
Munster circuit commences. This county is al- 
most insulated, for the river Shannon bounds it on 
the east and south, the Atlantic ocean on the west, 
B stretching 




«^"^ Co. ^ m «0 i IIMB II C 



Scale of Irish. Miles 



2 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

stretching from Cape Lean or Loop-bead to Black- 
head, and on the north t by the bay of Gal way ; 
it extends about 33 miles from N. to S. and about 
52 from E. to W. 



Sect. 2. Divisions. 

This county contains about 476200 acres, or 
744 square miles, of which 220144 acres are deemed 
profitable and pay cess. Since the period when 
the Down survey was taken, much land, that was 
then deemed unprofitable, and consequently not 
chargeable with any cess, has been since reclaimed, 
and still pays none, by which means many farmers 
pay more than their proportion. 

The baronies are Tullagh containing 57147 acres, 
— Bunratty 38357, — Inchiquin 29523, — Clounde- 
ralaw 24148,— -Ibrickan 13473,— Moyferta 18782,-— 
Islands 17311,— Corcomroe 16663^— Burrin 10040, 
— so that, if the Down survey was exact (which it 
probably was not,) 256056 acres either are waste or 
pay no cess. 

Sect. 3. Climate. 

The climate is in general remarkably healthful ; 
the strong gales from the Atlantic, though very 
unfriendly to planting, in so much that trees up- 
wards 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 3 

wards of 50 miles from the sea have, if not sheltered, 
a lean to the east, yet seem to agree well with 
most constitutions.* 

Though the air is usually moist near the sea, 
the neighbouring inhabitants seem to feel no kind 
of inconvenience. Were the magistrates to do 
their duty in suppressing private distilleries, which 
abound in the county, and the proprietors of land 
or their agents to encourage domestic and personal 
cleanliness, there would not be a more healthful 
country in the world : there would be no com- 
plaint of those low fevers, which run through 
whole parishes, and destroy many, and which, I 
am informed by Doctor Hynes, proceed chiefly 
from want of cleanliness. 

When the proprietors of those extensive tracts 
of bog and mountain, which abound in the East 
and West part of the county, are sensible of their 
value, and when planting such parts, as are worth 
little for any other purpose, on an extensive scaie 
takes place, the climate will be less damp and 
consequently much warmer. 

b 2 I have 

* There are many instances of longevity j one Hagarty near Moy 
died lately at the age of 107, and preserved the use of his intellects 
to the last. A family of the name of Rumsey, at Kilrush, are re- 
markably long-lived— a few years since, a priest (Mr. M'Curtin) died 
at the age of iOO; he never had the tooth-ach, and got a new tooth 
at 98, never lost a toqth but the one, that was repJaced at this un- 
usual age, and enjoyed good health to the last. 



4 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

I have not been able to obtain any meteorolo- 
gical observations on the weather, pursued for a 
series of years, by which any material change 
might be ascertained, but it seems to be the opi- 
nion of the old people, that it has been more subject 
to Atlantic storms than formerly ; this seems to be 
corroborated by finding the remains of trees of great 
length and thickness in situations, where it would 
be very difficult to make them grow at present, 
as they are generally thought to be Scotch fir, 
which is by no means that very hardy tree, that 
is imagined ; I suspect very much they are pine- 
aster, which will stand as single trees, where no 
other kind in the same situation can exist. I have 
made many inquiries from those, who have raised 
timber from bogs, and have been informed, that 
they have often found cones as large as their fists ; 
as it is well known, that the cones of Scotch fir are 
seldom above an inch long, and half as broad, we 
may fairly conclude they are either pine-astre or 
stone-pine. Some faint idea may be formed of 
the force, with which the waves of the sea are 
impelled by the western storms, when it is known, 
that cubes of limestone rock 10 or 12 feet in dia- 
meter are thrown up on ledges of rock several 
feet high near Doolen ; and at the same place 
may be seen a barrier of water-worn stones, some 
of them many tons weight, thrown up above twenty 

feet 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 5 

feet high across a small bay, into which fisher- 
men used to land from their small boats, and where 
their former quay surrounded with huts remains 
many yards from the sea; this has occurred in the 
memory of many living at present. 

Where the coast is rocky, the sea is daily gain- 
ing on the land ; but, where fine sand forms the 
barrier, the land is encreasing.* Frost or snow 
is seldom of any long continuance ; when snow 
continues long, as it did this year, (1807) great 
losses are sustained on extensive sheep-walks, as 
few, if any, ever make any provision of hay, except 
for those sheep they intend to sell fat in the spring ; 
many sheep were found in good health after lying 
upwards of twenty days under the snow. 

There was a slight frost the llth and 12th of Sep- 
tember, 1807 ; the tops of the potatoes were a little 
injured, but slight early frosts are always a very 
fortunate circumstance ; they not only help to dry 
the ground and ripen the potatoes by stopping 
vegetation, but likewise give a fillip to indolence, 
that otherwise would leave potatoes undug until 
Christmas. Where wheat follows potatoes, the 
advantage is very great. 

Some 

* This effect is produced jn a very rapid degree at a small dis- 
tance beyond the Pigeon-; ious>-, and on the North Bull near, 
Dublin : in a few years they will be pastures, or at least rabbit- 
warrens, and, if a little pains were taken,, this effect might be 
accelerated. 



6 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Some of the finest myrtles I have any where seen, 
are in the open ground at Ralahine and Bunratty ; 
some are upwards of 18 feet high, and well fur- 
nished ; they are both broad and narrow leaved. 

Sect. 4. Soil and Surface. 

That part of Tullagh, which joins the county 
of Gal way, is mountainous and moory, in its pre- 
sent state of verj- little value, but might at a mo- 
derate expence be made very valuable by en- 
closing, draining, burning, and by lime, or marl, 
but chiefly by irrigation, which is, as far as I could 
learn, almost unknown in the barony. 

Bunratty > formerly belonging to the family of 
Macnamara, and called Dangin-I-vigin, touches the 
county of Galwaj at Tubber, and running through 
the centre of the county, sweeps, round the city of 
Limerick, and joins the river Shannon near the 
canal ; a large proportion is rocky, but not un- 
productive, for it grazes large flocks of sheep, pro- 
ducing very luxuriant herbage amongst the rocks. 

Inchiquin was formerly called Tullogh I'Dea, but 
in 1585 was granted by Queen Elizabeth to the 
Baron of Inchiquin, since which period it has 
been called Inchiquin. Tradition, which is often 
a lyar, says the barony takes its title from a small 
island in the lake of Inchiquin, that it anciently- 
belonged to a family of the Quins or Cuinns, and 

was 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. * 

was called Inriish O Quin or Quin's island, and that 
O Quin was starved to death in it. 

The eastern part is chiefly a flat, calcareous, 
rocky, and light soil ; the west is generally moory 
Mils, with some vallies of great fertility ; the part, 
that joins the barony of Corcomroe, is highly 
improvable, as limestone is very convenient, but 
at present under a most wretched system of mis- 
management. About Tully OVDea there is some 
excellent tillage ground, and t one little farmer 
sows velvet wheat. In this barony are situated 
the beautiful lakes of Inchiquin, and Tedano, and 
a chain of those of inferior note, that take a direc* 
tion, some towards Kilmacduagh in the county of 
Gal way, and others to Ennis ; they have all sub- 
terraneous communications. 

Clowider (daw joins the Shannon on the south, and 
the river Fergus on the east, and is very much 
encumbered with bog and moory mountain ; but, as 
lime could be easily brought in, it is highly 
improvable. 

Ibrickan stretches along the western coast, and 
includes Mutton-isknd. The southern part is al- 
most all bog, and the northern a mixture of very- 
improvable moory hills, ^ind clay soil, but under a 
most miserable system of deterioration* 

Moyferta (after refined to Moyerta) runs in a very 
acute angle to Loop-head, on which the light-house & 

situated, 



9 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

situated, and is supplied with an ample share of 
bog and moory hills very improvable. 

The western part of the barony of Islands is chiefly 
composed of low moory mountain, but towards 
the east, as it approaches the town of Ennis and 
the river Fergus, it improves greatly, and contains 
a share of those rich grazing grounds, called Corcass, 
and partakes of the same soil as the adjoiningb arony 
of Bunratty, which it embraces near Ennis- 

Corcomroe, bounded on the west by the Atlantic 
ocean, is very much of the same qualify as the ad- 
joining baronies ; it consists of a fertile clay on 
whinstone rock, called here cold stone, to distinguish 
it from lime-stone, which is called hot soil; it wants 
only draining, liming, and a proper course of crop- 
ping to make those lands, that now pay only a few 
shillings per acre, worth from two to three guineas ; 
it is painful to see this so highly improvable barony 
under a system, that is neither profitable to landlord 
nor tenant, but alas ! the greater part belongs to 
absentees. 

Burrin signifies a distant part of a country; it was 
also formerly called Hy Loch Lean, or the district 
on the waters of the sea ; it likewise received from 
Ptolomy the appellation of Gangannii, a corruption 
of the void Cean-g an, Cean a head or promontory, 
and gan external, the people of the external pro^ 
montory, and of the same signification as Burrin. 

This 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 9 

This barony is extremely rocky, but produces a short 
sweet herbage fit for sheep of middling size and 
short clothing wool, of which immense numbers 
are annually reared, and usually sold at the fair of 
Ballinasloe in October, and from thence drove into 
Leinster to be fattened at three years old ; a small 
part feeds store bullocks, and a much smaller fattens 
them for Limerick or Cork market. 

A person unacquainted with the nature of the 
soil, and judging hastily from appearances, would 
think the rocky parts of this county worth very little, 
and could scarcely be persuaded, that many acres 
are let so high as 3l. — sometimes more ; but still the 
greater part is let for low rents, often by the bulk, 
and not by the acre. The herbage, produced in 
those of the best quality, is of the most nutritive 
kind, and plentifully intermixed with varrow, white 
clover, trefoil, birds'-foot trefoil, and fattens a few 
black cattle and immense flocks of sheep, the mutton 
of which is amongst the best in Ireland, and of 
which the citizens of Dublin can have little idea, 
Especially since the introduction of Leicester sheep. 

Those parts, that are cultivated, produce abun- 
dant crops of potatoes, oats, wheat, barley, flax, 
&c. The cultivation of wheat, since the establish- 
ment of Messrs. Burton and Fitzgerald's flour-mill at 
Clifden, has enchased considerably, and begins to 
improve greatly in the quality, as they very laudably 

c take 



10 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

take every pains to disseminate a superior kind to 
that usually cultivated. 

The soil of the mountainous part, comprehending 
all that, which, beginning at Doolan, takes a southern 
direction towards Loophead, and from thence along 
the Shannon to Kilrush, and v still further in the 
same direction, and that of the mountains of Slieu- 
boghta, which divide this county from Galway, is 
generally composed of moor or bog of different 
depths, from two inches to many feet, over a ferru- 
ginous or aluminous clay, or sandstone rock. In 
many situations lime could be procured on moderate 
terms, either by land, or by the Shannon j yet the 
farmers are either insensible of its value, or grudge 
the expence of carrying it, if the distance was only 
a mile. In some parts of the county of Wexford 
the farmers are so sensible of the improvements to 
be made by lime, that they frequently pay 3s. 6d. per 
ton, and draw it often twelve miles, sometimes much 
farther, and where turf to burn it is by no means 
in that plenty, or so convenient as here. 

A considerable part of the surface is occupied by 
bogs, particularly in the baronies of Moyferta and 
Jbrickan, beginning near Kilrush, and running to- 
wards Dunbeg, a distance of nearly five miles, and 
ill most as many broad ; and a great part of the moun- 
tains, except the limestone ones of Burrin, are. 
gavered with the same valuable substance. It is a 

very 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 11 

very peculiar circumstance, that those large tracts 
of rocky country, which must be always under sheep 
or cattle, and require but a very limited population, 
have but a scanty supply of this fuel. In many 
parts of the barony, especially on the coast, the 
inhabitants are obliged to procure it from the 
opposite shore of Cunnamara by boats. 

For a considerable breadth on either side of the 
point of partition between the calcareous and schis- 
tose regions, the soils gradually melt into each 
other, and form some of the best ground iri the 
county; for instance, Lemenagh, Shally, Applevale, 
Riverston, &c. &c. 

A fine vein of ground runs from Killnoney to 
Tomgraney, about a mile in breadth ; it lets for 3/. 
to three guineas per acre. 

But the pride of the county are those rich low 
grounds running along the rivers Fergus and Shan- 
non, called Carcass ; they are of various breadths, 
indenting the land in a great variety of shapes. That 
part called Tradree, or Tradruihe, (Terre de roi,) 
the land of the king, (tradition says it was the 
private patrimony of Brian Boromhe), is prover- 
bially rich ; there are black and blue corcasses,* so 
C 2 called 



cast! 
of h 



* Mr. D'Esterre possesses 500 acres of blue corcass near Bunratt j 
tie ; it in general lets for seven guineas and a half per acre : six tons 
ay per acre not reckoned extraordinary, but sometimes eight iorj$ 
aj$ produced, though mowed usually ju the middle of July. 



12 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

called from the nature of the substratum ; the black 
is most esteemed for tillage, not retaining the vet 
so long as the blue, which consists of a tenacious 
clay, and retains water ; this is reckoned best for 
meadow. Some of the corcasses do not retain the 
grjass well in winter. The»e lands might be flooded 
from the Shannon and Fergus with great advantage ; 
but, as the consent of so many would be necessary, 
those only, whose lands are contiguous to the rivers, 
could avail themselves of a practice, that has been 
followed with great success in England, and is called 
silting or warping. Many think the corcasses are 
of immense depth, but, in digging for the foundation 
of Bunrattj r bridge, limestone-gravel was found at 
about ten feet below the surface. The upland about 
Butiratty is of excellent quality, and beautifully 
shaped, of which Mr. Studdert has taken advantage, 
and is building a handsome house in a charming 
situation. 

Mr. James Lysaght has favoured me with a state- 
ment of extraordinary fertility. In a turlogh near 
Kilfenora (I forget the name,) he fattened, in one 
year, on 48 acres, 42 large oxen, 44 sheep, and fed 
also 17 horses, and a great number of pigs; the fol- 
lowing year he sold off it in fine condition (as his 
cattle always are) one hundred two-years old bul- 
locks, and sixteen or seventeen horses. 

The soil in the neighbourhood of Quin abbey 

is 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARfc. 13 

is a light limestone, and lets at from 30.?. to two 
guineas per acre. 

There is a large tract of fine tillage ground, and 
a charming country, where the parishes of Quin, 
CJonlea, and Kilmurry unite, and for many miles on 
every side. 

Sect. 5. Minerals. 

T#e annexed list, taken from the Dublin Society** 
museum, will shew that this country is by no means 
deficient in mineral productions. I discovered very 
ticb lead ore on Mr. Scott's estate near Glendree, 
and on Mr. Colpoys's estate near Tullagh. I have 
seen a specimen of lead ore, belonging to a gentleman, 
who did not wish his name to be mentioned, which, 
has been assayed in London, and contains in 36 
cwt. 25 j cwt. lead, 5G^ oz. silver, and l^ oz. gold, 
and lies near the surface. Strong indications of iron 
are very frequent in many parts of the county, but, 
until coal is raised in sufficient quantity, it is. of no 
value. Coal has been found in many places, but 
little or no exertions made to pursue it with any 
beneficial effect. Some years since two boats, were 
freighted with coal raised near Innistympn.;- one was 
sent to Limerick, and the other to Gal way ; they 
were both condemned, as very bad coal, because 
one of the partners insisted on mixing the coal smut 

along 



14 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

along with the good coal ; thus ignorance and avarice 
met their just reward, and, instead of a profitable 
undertaking, dissolved a partnership, that, if con- 
ducted with skill and honesty, would have enriched 
the country and themselves. 

A few years since an attempt was made by Mr. 
Burton, near Clifden, aided by some English miners, 
to raise coal ; after sinking upwards of fifty feet, a 
thin stratum of coal was discovered ; but the shaft 
filled so fast with water, that the miners, from want 
of machinery to clear it, were obliged to desist 
until some future period. Detached limestone rocks 
of considerable magnitude frequently occur in the 
grit soils, and, though surrounded by bog, where 
their value would be inestimable, and could be 
obtained at a very moderate expence, they are 
seldom used. Large blocks of limestone have been 
lately discovered in Liscanor bay, seven or eight 
miles from the limestone country, and burned for 
lime ; also in a bank, near the harbour of Liscanor, 
water-worn pebbles are found and burned. 

The shore of Lough Graney produces a sand 
chiefly composed of crystals, which is used for 
making scythe boards, greatly superior to those 
brought from England ; the country people come 
for it upwards of twenty miles. Sand of the same 
quality is also procured from Lough Coutra, the 
estate of Prendergast Smyth, Esq. in the same 

cjiain of mountains. 

Yery 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARF. U 

Very fine flags are raised on the estate of 
Mr. Cooper, a few miles from Kilrush ; they are 
easily quarried, and procured in masses of consi- 
derable dimensions. They are curiously connected 
by serpentine insertions between the layers. The 
foot-path of Miltown is beginning to be flagged 
with them, for which purpose they are well adapted, 
as well from their durability, as from the feet not 
slipping on them as on limestone, which makes a 
very dangerous pavement or flagging. Near Innis- 
tymon thin flags are raised, which are used for 
many miles round for covering houses ; they dp 
not in general split into laminae thin enough, 
therefore require strong timbers in the roof ; they 
are sold for 6s. to 11 s. per ton, laid down at your 
house, if within three. or four miles distance. The 
Ballagh slates are preferred, as they are thinner 
than most others. A ton will slate about a square 
or 100 feet; and for laying them on the house, at 
8s. 1 \d. per square, slaters, if employed by the day, 
generally get 2s. S\d. and diet. There is another 
sandstone quarry near Kilrush, one near Glenomera, 
and several of this kind of stone in the western part 
of the county. Broadford slates have long been 
celebrated, and are nearly equal to the best Welsh 
slates; they cost at the quarry 2.1. 5s. 6d. per ton, 
>vhich will cover nearly three squares ; a smaller kind 
are sold for \l. 6s, and will cover about l^ square. 

As 



16 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

As the communication by the Shannon is now opened 
to Dublin, little doubt can be entertained that they 
will supply that city to the exclusion of Welsh slates. 
Killaloe slates are reckoned rather better than Broad- 
ford: they sell for, whole and half ton, 2l. 5s. 6d. 
per ton ; quarter ton 5s. per hundred ; small slates 
135. per thousand: the quarry-men have half the 
profit for raising them, the other half is received 
by the proprietor, Mr. Henry of Straffon. All the 
quarries seem to be badly worked ; they do little 
more than skim the surface, though doubtless the 
hardest and best slates are at greater depths than 
they can attain without the assistance of machi- 
nery. This one of Killaloe is worked to a greater 
depth than the Broadford quarries. 

Very fine black marble has been raised at Cragg- 
liath near Ennis ; it takes a very high polish, and 
is, if well chosen, free from those large white spots, 
that disfigure some of the Kilkenny marble. 

Copper pyrites occurs in several parts of Burrin ; 
I have found it near Doolen; and I am informed 
that, some years since, Mr. Annesley, who possesses 
an estate in Glenvaan, barony of Burrin, attempted 
to raise copper ore ; but, after bringing over miners 
from England at a considerable expence, whether 
from their unfavourable reports, or what other cause 
I know not, the further progress was abandoned. 
The chain of calcareous hills, that run from near 

Corrofin, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 17 

Corrofin, present a very curious assemblage to the 
traveller's eye ; they are generally insulated, flat 
on the summit, descending and encreasing in 
amphitheatrical ledges to the intervening vallies ; 
some of them bear a very near resemblance to 
the view of the Herefordshire beacon, given as 
the frontispiece to the 1st vol. of Mr. King's 
Munimenta Antiqua.* 

List of Minerals, discovered by Mr. Donald Stewart, 
and others, in the County of Clare, and of which 
specimens have been deposited in the Museum of 
the Dublin Society. 

LEAD ORE. 

1. Rich lead ore, from a remarkable large course 
of fine white calcareous crystal spaif, forty j T ards 
wide, between the grey limestone rocks on the 
estate of Anthony Colpoys, Esq. near Tulla. 

2. Lead ore, found on the lands of Class, the 
estate of Henry O'Brien, Esq. in hard grey rock, 
that strikes fire with steel. 

3. Lead ore, found in grey limestone rock, in 
the deer-park of Lemenagh, the estate of Sir Edward 
O'Brien. It has also been discovered in various 

d other 

* These hills are not well delineated in the map of the county, 
published by JNlr. Pelham. 



18 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

other parts of the same estate, sometimes coated 
with yellow crystal pyrites. 

4. Lead ore, from Glenvaan, in the barony of 
Burrin, the estate of Mr. Annesley ; also some 
specimens of green and blue lead ore : a large 
course runs into the great limestone mountains of 
Burrin. 

5. Lead ore, from a regular vein on the summit 
of the limestone mountain, on the north-west 
side of the large deer-park of Lemenagh, the 
estate of Francis M^Namara, Esq. 

6. Lead ore, from Glendree, the estate of John 
Scott, Esq. near Feacle. 

IRON ORE. 

7. Heavy blackish iron-stone, from Class, near 
Spansel hill ; it strikes fire with steel. 

8. Heavy blackish iron-stone, from a large course 
of spar and ochre, near the edge of the river 
Ardsallas, on the north side of the demesne of 
Sir Edward O'Brien. 

9. Black heavy iron ore, from Goat-island, on 
the Malbay coast, the estate of Lord Milton. 

10. Rich black ochrish iron ore, in a large flat 
on the top of the cliff opposite to Goat-island ; 
near this is a regular stratum of coal-slate, six 
feet thick, the estate of Lord Milton. 

11. Red 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 19 

11. Red iron ore, from the same place, near 
Cross. 

12. Very compact reddish iron ore, from the rub- 
bish, where the late Sir Lucius O'Brien made a 
trial for coal, near the road between Corrofin and 
Ennis. 

13. Heavy reddish iron ore, from the shore of 
Liscanor bay, near the place, in which coal has 
been found. 

14. A ball of iron-stone, from near Pooldagh or 
the Bullock's pool, on the estate of Lord Milton, 
near Cross, on the Malbay coast. 

MANGANESE, 

15. From the spa- well of Fierd, on the sea- 
shore near Cross, the estate of Mr. Westby. 
Specimens of this . were sent to Mr. Roe, at 
Ringsend, and others, who said it was more free 
from iron, and better than any they had seen 
before, and very fit for making the bleaching 
liquid. It is formed by the water on the rocks. 

16. Heavy porous iron manganese, from Kil- 
credane point, near Carrigaholt castle, the estate 
of Lord Conyngham. 

17. Manganese, from near Newhall, the estate 
of the late Charles Macdonnel, Esq. 

1$. Manganese, from a large body of it, on the 
p % edge 



20 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

edge of a bog near Innistymon river, and not 
far from that village, the estate of Edward 
O'Brien, Esq. 

COAL. 

19. In several parts of Mount Callan, on the 
estates, of the £arl of Egremont, Lord Conyng- 
ham, and the Bishop of Killaloe. Beds of iron- 
stone have been also found here. 

30. Coal, from a stratum twelve inches thick, 
near Loughill ferry ; on the opposite side of 
the Shannon, in the county of Limerick, the 
same stratum is only nine inches thick. Coal 
smut from the cliffs, on the west of Cloghansevan 
castle. In a hi^h cliff near this a large seam 
appears like coal, the estate of Mr. Westby, near 
Cross. 

21. Coal, from Liscanor bay, near Innistymon, 
in the face of the rock a little above high-water 
mark ; the seam is three feet thick ; the estate of 
Edward Fitzgerald, Esq. 

22. Coal, on the shore of Malbay, within high- 
water mark, near Mutton island, the estate of 
Lord Conyngham. 

23. Coal, from a thin seam, in a stream, that 
divides the estates of Lord Milton and the late 
Lord Clare, near the sea-shore, to the west of 

Carrigaholt 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 21 

Carrigaholt castle, where also are strong indica- 
tions of coal. 

24. Coal smut, from the remarkable cliff, where 
"water falls upon the rock, and has formed a great 
body of yellow ochre, near the mountain of Le** 
maduff or the Bullock's leap, the estate of Lord 
Milton. 

25. Coal, from a stratum four inches thick, about 
midway between the base and summit of Mount 
Callan, the estate of Lord Conyngham. 

26. Shining, blackish, oehrish coal slate, from a 
seam three feet thick, near the surface of the 
ground, on the sea-shore, about two miles east 
of Mutton island, the estate of George Stack- 
poole, Esq. of Edenvale. 

27. Coal, from a seam of it at Fieragh or Foraty 
bay, the estate of William Stackpoole, Esq. 

LIMESTONE. 

\ 

It is mentioned only in those places, where its 
scarcity and great value as a manure make it 
worthy of notice. 

28. Reddish limestone, in Glenomera, barony of 
Tulla, on the estates of Sir Hugh Massey and 
Mr. Arthur. 

29. Glimmery black limestone, near Six-mile-^ 
bridge. Black limestone, with the impressions of 

shells 



22 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

shells on it, in the bed of the river, that divides 
the counties of Clare and Galway, in Slieve-an- 
oir mountain. 

30. Black limestone, from large stones found 
•within the tide-water mark, on the shore of the 
river Shannon, about two miles north of Carrig- 
aholt castle, the estate of the late Charles Mac- 
donnel, Esq. 

31. Slaty black limestone, from Slieve-an-oir 
river, near the bleach-green j it was traced from 
Lough Teorig, on the mountain, to Lough Graney, 
a distance of upwards of four miles. 

Also valuable ochres, clays for potteries, anti- 
mony, and beautiful fluor spar, &c. have been 
discovered ; besides copper ore in several places, 
one mine of which in Burrin was formerly worked. 

Sect. 6. Water. 

The river Shannon, after almost dividing Ire- 
land from North to South, and dispensing its 
bounties to the adjoining counties of Roscommon, 
Leitrim, Longford, Westmeath, Galway, King's 
County, Kerry, Tipperary, and Limerick, enters 
the Atlantic ocean between this county and Kerry, 
where it is about five miles broad, and seems 
intended by Providence to carry the produce of 
Ireland, to supply the wants of our neighbours, 

through 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 2% 

through this channel. Of this the merchants of 
Limerick have availed themselves, and annually 
export immense quantities of corn and many other 
articles, besides the vast droves of fat cattle, with 
which they have long continued to feed the 
English navy. 

If capital was not wanting, Kilrush would long 
since have had a very large share of these advan- 
tages; and, as Mr. Vandeleur must be sensible of 
the great benefit of a flourishing town to his ad- 
joining estate, no doubt can be entertained, that 
liberal encouragement will be held out to improving 
tenants. When the time lost in working up and 
down the Shannon, (a distance of 120 miles,) 
and the expence of shipping and reshipping, (for 
it will scarcely be believed, that many articles are 
sent up the Shannon from Kilrush to Limerick, 
and there shipped,) are considered, it must point 
out Kilrush as a most favourable situation for 
trade, and must eventually contribute to the benefit 
of apart of the county, that is the least improved, 
and the most improvable in the county. 

The numerous bays and creeks on both sides 
of this noble river render it perfectly safe in every 
wind; but, when the wind blows from certain 
points, the passage to and from Limerick is fre- 
quently tedious, and occupies more time than 
might be employed in loading a vessel at Kilrush, 

in 



U STATISTICAL SURVEY 

in so much that I have been informed instances 
have occurred, when a vessel loading at Kilrush, 
whilst another was passing by for Limerick, has 
delivered her cargo in England, and returned, 
before the other vessel had cleared out of the 
Shannon. 

From Blackhead to Loophead, including the whole 
western boundary of the county, and measuring 
upwards of forty miles, there is no safe haibour for 
a vessel, except Liscanor bay, and this, for want of 
a pier extending to deep water, is useless for those 
of any burthen. A pier has been built, or rather 
jobbed, some years since ; but, for the reason I 
have just mentioned, it is of use only to fishing 
vessels and smugglers. From want of a sufficient 
body of water to clear the harbour of the gravel 
thrown in by the tide, it is rendered still more 
useless. For preventing this accumulation of gravel, 
some progress was made in augmenting a small 
stream of water, which runs into the harbour, but, 
after jobbing a considerable sum of money to no 
purpose, it has been abandoned. Some gentlemen 
of spirit have now taken up the business; and, 
as there can be little doubt of the liberal contri- 
bution of the proprietor, Colonel Fitzgerald, in aid 
of a sum, which Parliament, when informed of the 
number of lives it will save, will certainly grant, 
this port may be made highly useful. 

* Dunbeg 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 25 

Dunbeg bay, on aceount of rocks in the entrance, 
is unsafe for vessels of any size. 

x\ pier at Glanina, in the barony of Burrin, would 
be of infinite use, as vessels, that cannot make the 
harbour of Gal way, would here find safety, if they 
had a pier, and are at present in a most dan- 
gerous situation. 

The river Fergus, the most considerable next to 
the Shannon, takes its rise in the barony of Cor- 
comroe; and, after running through the lakes of 
Inchiquin, (containing three hundred acres,) Te- 
dane, Dromore, Ballyally, and several others, and 
receiving the waters of several smaller streams, 
pursues its course through the town of Ennis, 
where it is augmented by the river Clareen, and, 
after forming a considerable and beautiful estuary, 
full of picturesque islands, unites with the Shannon 
at about ten miles distance. It is navigable for 
vessels of two hundred tons burden to Clare, a 
distance of about eight miles, and for small craft 
to Ennis. In spring tides the depth is about six- 
teen feet, and in neap tides about nine feet ; at 
ebb, a considerable rich muddy strand is left bare, 
many parts of which might be added to those rich 
meadows and grazing grounds called corcasses. 
It receives many mountain streams, and after heavy 
rains rises so considerably and rapidly, that large 
tracts of low meadows are frequently overflowed, 

E and 



26 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

and immense quantities of hay destroyed, belonging 
to those indolent farmers, who, though they have 
been annually punished for this neglect, still persist, 
and who, I am confident, if a proposal was made to 
carry off the water, would grudge a small sum to 
effect it, and shift it on the shoulders of their 
neighbours. 

Those pests of the country, eel-weirs, also 
contribute to throw back water on the land ; an 
eel-weir at the bridge of Ardruan, near the old 
church of Kiltullogb, throws back water on many 
acres ; the river Fergus, though here upwards of 
sixty feet broad, is narrowed by this petty weir 
to eight feet. It is extraordinary, that some of 
our enlightened legislators do not bring in a bill 
to abate this very great nuisance ; except grist 
and tuck mills, there cannot be a greater ; and I 
am perfectly convinced that, taken in the aggre- 
gate of Ireland, the proprietors of land, especially 
on rivers of moderate descent, are injured in their 
property to the annual amount of many millions 
of money. It is certainly in the power of grand 
juries to remove those, that have been lately erected. 
A very moderate sum would lower the obstructions 
on the river Fergus ; but, however willing some 
individuals may be, it is almost impossible to procure 
a 'general consent of the proprietors, and it would 
be too expensive to obtain an act of Parliament 

for 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 27 

for this purpose ; the expence would be more than 
would remove all the obstructions. The grand 
jury, if they have the power, ought to interfere, 
and present money for it ; and, though their funds 
probably would not be able to meet the expen- 
diture at once, it might be gradually effected: 
the salaries, that are now paid to conservators, who 
are worse than useless, would soon accomplish this 
and many other useful plans. It probably may be 
thought, that the individuals, who are injured, 
fchould expend the money for this purpose ; so 
they certainly ought, and it is a strange neglect 
in our legislators, that there is not a bill brought 
in for the purpose of compelling a general 
drainage, without the expence of a separate act 
for every thing however trifling ; yet, as the com- 
munity are always benefited by the prosperity of 
individuals, it would be wise to effect this im- 
provement and many others from the public purse, 
and would be infinitely more useful than many 
mountain jobs of roads, that end perhaps in the 
undertaker's bog. 

Lough Terroig is situated on the top of the 
mountain of Slieuboghta, in the barony of Tullagh, 
and divides the county of Galway from this. A 
stream from it runs into the beautiful Lough Graney, 
or Lake of the Sun, and, after a serpentine course of 
four miles, collects the waters, that several rivulets 
E 2 thro\r 



2$ STATISTICAL SURVEY 

throw into Annahw, Lough, and Lough O* Grady ^ 
and at about two miles distance falls into the Shan- 
non in the picturesque Skarriff bay. 

The river Ougarnee, beginning near Lough Breedy, 
communicates its waters with Lough Doon, in the 
barony of Tullagh, after a short run meets that 
from Lough Cloonlea to the north of Woodfield, 
and, continuing its course for about three miles, 
forms a small lake near Mountcashel; from thence, 
after watering Six-mile-bridge, and turning several 
miles, it falls into the Shannon near Bunratty -castle, 
and opposite to the river Maige, in the county of 
Limerick, about seven miles from that city. The 
tide flows up to the old oil-mill at Six-mile-bridge. 

Ardsallas river rises in the barony of Bun- 
ratty ; in its course it receives a considerable addi- 
tion from a river rising in the barony of Tullagh, 
and unites with the Fergus about six miles from the 
Shannon.* 

The source of the Blackwater is likewise in the 
barony of Tullagh ; it runs but a short distance, 
before it falls into the Shannon near Limerick. 

Clareen river rises in the barony of Islands, and, 

after a very devious course of six or seven miles, 

joins the Fergus a little to the north of Ennis. 

Many hundred acres could be irrigated by this 

stream ; it is abundant, and falls rapidly. 

A con- 

* Sir Edward O'Brien is irrigating a considerable tract of groir>d 
from this abundant stream. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 29 

A considerable stream rises in Mount Callan ; its 
course is, upwards of sixteen miles, nearly parallel to 
the coast ; it forms Lough Dulogh, receives several 
other smaller streams, and disembogues itself into the 
Atlantic at Dunbeg. 

Several streams from the barony of Islands con- 
tribute to form a river, that falls into the Shannon 
at Clounderalaw bay. 

Innistymon river forms for about two miles a 
boundary between the baronies of Ibrickan and 
Islands, and, running across the barony of Inchiquin, 
constitutes the division between that barony and 
Corcomroe, running for nearly sixteen miles, and, 
receiving the addition of several smaller streams, 
falls in its passage over a very large ledge of rocks 
at Innistymon, and thence into Liscanor bay, form- 
ing at high water a very dangerous passage for 
horses and carriages between Lehinch and Liscanor. 

There are numberless small streams in almost 
every part of this county, except in the barony of 
Burrin, which is but scantily supplied. It is no 
easy matter to ascertain the names of many rivers, 
as they generally take their names from those of 
any town or remarkable place they pass through. 

The river Boagh or Bow rises in the mountains, 
that divide Galway from this county, and also forms 
the division of these counties in its course to the 
Shannon, almost opposite to Holy-island. 

The 



50 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

The lakes are very numerous, amounting to 
upwards of one hundred with names ; many are 
small, but some are large, as Lough Grane}^, Lough 
O'Grady, Lough Tedane, and Inchiquin. 

Mineral waters are found in many places, they 
are chiefly chalybeate ; that at Lisdounvarna has 
been long celebrated for its virtues, particularly in 
obstructions, and some find it beneficial after a 
"winter's drinking of bad whiskey from private stills ; 
k is strongly ferruginous, and of an astringent taste, 
and strong smell, but not fetid. This water would 
be much resorted to, if accommodations for drinkers 
could be had ; but the health of those, who go 
there, is probably more injured by damp dirty 
lodgings in cabbins, than benefited by the use of 
the water.* This spa possesses an advantage not 
often met with at such places ; it is contiguous to 
the sea, and gives an option of sea-bathing, as 
health or pleasure dictate, and the roads are in 
very tolerable repair. 

At Scoolj in the barony of Inchiquin, another 
chalybeate has been drank with great success by 
several afflicted with obstructions. Another chaly- 
beate breaks up in the road near Cloneen, about 
a mile north-west of the castle of Lemenagh. 

Kilkissken spa has been handsomely enclosed, and 

has 

* Leases of sufficient length for building, owing to a minority, 
cannot at present be obtained. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 31 

has effected many cures. There is another cha- 
lybeate spa at Cassino, near Miltown Malbay. 

Many holy wells are to be seen in different parts 
of the county.* That near Toomgraney, in the 
barony of Tullagh, called St. CoolerHs, is remarkable 
for the purity of its water, and for the remains pf 
an oak tree, that measures upwards of sixteen feet 
in circumference four feet from the ground. At 
St. Giaaran's well, near Ennis, there are the remains 
of a very large ash tree. I do not recollect any 
thing remarkable of the other wells but the good- 
ness of the water ; the saints of ancient days were 
certainly good judges of water and land; indeed 
the county abounds with good springs, surely a 
much wholesomer beverage than the vile malt 
liquor usually brewed at the present day, even in 
London ; the name should be changed, for it is a 
compound of every thing but malt and hops. 

Turloghs, called in other places Loghans. are 
frequent in this county ; they are accumulations 
of water, either forced under ground from a higher 
level, or surface-water from higher grounds, that have 
no outlet, and must remain until evaporated in sum- 
mer. There is a very large one at Turloghmore, two 
near Kilfenora, and more in other places. Although 
the water remains on them usually for several months, 

yet, 

* These wells are little regarded, but by the most ignorant peo- 
jrte, and this Scythian custom will soon vanish. 



32 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

yet, on the subsiding of it, fine grass springs up, and 
supports large herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. 
These turloghs abound also in the county of Gal way, 
and could be drained in general with great ease, and at 
a moderate expence I have offered to contract for 
the drainage of several ; but there were such various 
interests to reconcile, and such an unaccountable 
indolence in the gentlemen concerned, that I have 
always retired with dfcgust. 



CHAP. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 33 



CHAP. II. 



AGRICULTURE. 



Sect. 1. Mode of Culture. 

FORMERLY the preparation for wheat 
was always a fallow, except near the sea-coast, 
where the abundance of sea-weed or sea-sand ren- 
dered it unnecessary. In some places this waste- 
ful practice still continues ; but the great exten- 
sion of the potatoe culture, and a happy rise in 
rents, have in some measure assisted the abolition. 
The example of some, but very few, spirited gen- 
tlemen, who cultivate potatoes, clover, vetches, 
rape, turnips, and other green crops for cattle, 
will doubtless have every good effect, in shewing 
the farmers the heavy losses they sustain by un- 
productive fallows. Very small farmers and cot- 
tiers scarcely ever fallow their ground ; the usual 
preparation with them is potatoes manured for, 
and not unfrequently planted in drills ; they are 
generally succeeded by oats, and too often by 
several crops of this grain, without the intervention 

F of 



fg STATISTICAL SURVEY 

of any green ameliorating crop, until the ground 
will scarcely return the seed they had sowed. Fre- 
quently the course is; 1st, potatoes with manure, 
or the ground burned; 2d, wheat, sometimes sowed 
in winter, but oftener in spring ; 3d, oats, and 
then begin the course with manure again, but too 
often they continue the cultivation of oats. 

In many parts of the county, chiefly the eastern- 
and western extremities, where the soil in its pre- 
sent unimproved state is not adapted to wheat, 
oats is a very general crop, and frequently after 
manured potatoes, and the cultivation of this grain is 
continued, until the ground is completely exhausted - T 
in this state it remains for several years, producing 
little herbage, and of very bad quality, until it has 
produced a sufficient covering to enable them to 
burn it again, and the same wretched course is 
pursued, whilst the agent (perhaps some young 
lawyer or attorney, totally ignorant of country af- 
fairs)* permits his absentee landlord to suffer thus in 
his receipts; for, at the end of almost every lease, 
the ground comes into his hands in this impove- 
rished state, and it is by no means uncommon to 
burn ground four times during a lease of thirty- 

one years. 

Every 

* Mr. M'Evoy, in bis Survey of the County of Tyrone, seems to be 
r.f the same opinion : he says, p. 193, "Agents not acquainted with 
country business may be considered a great bar to improvement; 
the improvement of land depends very much on the activity and 
knowledge of agents.'* 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 

Every cottier is perfectly sensible of the great 
value of manure, and great exertions are every 
where made to collect it, insomuch that the roads 
are frequently injured to a great extent : turf-mould 
spread about their doors, and every hole filled with 
it during winter, forms a very large share of their 
manure for potatoes ; the usual mode of planting 
them is, with few exceptions, in beds of about six 
feet wide, with a trench two or three feet wide, 
according to the depth of soil ; in very shallow soils 
they are often made much wider, in good soils not 
more than eighteen inches. 

Sometimes moory or boggy ground is burned for 
this inestimable root, and generally two crops taken ; 
they are almost always succeeded by oats, rape, 
or flax. 

Sometimes barley succeeds potatoes; it is used 
chiefly in the private stills, which abound in every 
part of the county, even under the very nose of 
the magistrates ; and some people are impudent 
enough to say, that they are so used to the smell of 
putteen whiskey, they do not perceive the stills ; and 
others are still more impudent, who say, that some 
magistrates keep stills in their concerns. After barley, 
oats are taken as long as the ground will produce 
any thing ; it is then left to nature for several years, 
until she, kind nurse, produces as much herbage roots 
as will enable the repetition of this barbarous system 
F 2 of 



56 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

of tillage, especially if the lease is near its expiration. 
The value of potatoes is so universally known, that 
few farmers have less than from one to four acres of 
them, some ten or more. In some parts of the county^ 
the ground is manured, and formed into a ridge in 
the usual way, and the potatoes planted with a long 
dibble,* that a man thrusts into the ground with 
his foot, followed by a child or woman, who drops 
a potatoe into the hole; sometimes the potatoes 
are dropped at the usual distance on the surface, 
and put into the hole by the man, who dibbles. 
Frequently, after manuring the ridges, or the second 
year after burning, a man makes a deep cut with 
a spade, which he throws forward, at the same time 
making an open cut to receive the potatoe set, that 
he has ready in his hand, from a stock usually 
carried in an apron before him ; on drawing out 
the spade, the cut closes on. the set. After both 
of these methods, the potatoes are second-spitted 
or shovelled in the usual way ; but they are erroneous 
practices, because the ground is seldom or ever 
stirred since the previous crop, and it would be 
less tedious to lay the potatoe-sets at once before 
planting ; yet to a poor cottier it is convenient, 
for the operations of manuring and throwing up the 
ridges are performed at a season of more leisure, 
in winter or too early in spring to plant potatoes 

with 

* This in some coucties is called a steeveen. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 37 

with safety, and when his own or his landlord's hurry 
of bnsiness has not yet commenced. There are 
always abundant crops of potatoes after a dry spring, 
as the burning of land (on which nine-tenths of the 
potatoes of the county are planted) is facilitated, and 
seldom fails to produce a plentiful return. If a total 
abolition of this practice was to take place, as some 
people totally ignorant of rural economy seem to 
wish, a famine would be the consequence : when 
better practices amongst farmers are adopted, the 
production of manure by green crops will render this 
mode unnecessary. It must be gratifying to hear, that 
even cottiers are now eager to procure grass-seeds. 

Lay ground is frequently skinned with a plough 
and four horses walking abreast, (a boy walking 
backwards, and striking the horses in the face to 
make them advance,) and burned in the summer 
or autumn ; the ashes are always left in heaps, 
until the potatoe-digging is finished ; about the 
beginning of December they are spread, and wheat 
sowed, if the weather is favourable, but frequently 
from wet weather the sowing is deferred until spring. 
Indeed the greater part of the wheat of the county 
is sowed in spring ; this has been the custom time 
out of mind, and has caused no little merriment 
amongst the farmers, when they saw premiums of- 
fered by societies for experiments on the cultiva- 
tion of spring wheat, and equally so on an author's 

gravely 



38 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

gravely asserting, that from his experiments he found 
it 'would answer, and that he was the first, that had 
tried it: it shews how little one part of Ireland 
knows of the practices of the other ; this knowledge, 
if no other good effect arose from the statistical 
surveys, -would be sufficient to obviate those igno- 
rant sneers, that indolent gentlemen are but too 
apt to indulge themselves in. It was the advice 
of the celebrated Bakewell, " to see what others 
were doing ;" and, strange as it may sound, the 
gentlemen of this county would be much bene- 
fited by staying less at home. Frequently after a 
crop of wheat, and one or two of oats, the ground 
is fallowed, and after the last ploughing in October 
is again sowed with wheat, trenched in with spades 
and shovels, and then oats, as long as the ground 
will give any ; after this it lies, as usual, useless 
for several years. 

On the sea-shore great use is made of sea^veed, 
(algae) of several species : two successive crops of 
potatoes are taken, and generally followed by wheat, 
oats, and barley, and the same course repeated : this 
has been the practice time immemorial. It very 
often happens, that a sufficient quantity of this ma- 
nure is not thrown in previous to the planting sea- 
son, sometimes from want of time, or the means 
of bringing it to their land; in this case they plant 
the potatoes at the usual season, and, according as 

the 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 39 

the weed is thrown in by the tide, it is daily spread 
on the planted surface, and then covered by a 
second spit or shovelling, which keeps the weed 
moist, and causes it to rot. Experiments have been 
tried to ascertain, whether sea-weed, laid on fresh 
from the sea, was a better manure than that thrown 
into large heaps to rot before using ; the result 
has been in favour of the fresh weed. If potatoes 
are planted early enough on this manure, they are 
dry and well tasted, but, if late, are apt to be wet 
and ill tasted. Sea-sand has been used in many 
places with good effect, particularly by Mr. Mo- 
rony near Miltown, who spread a small quantity 
on ground of very inferior quality, which produced 
so great a crop of grass, as to set for meadow the 
following summer at seven guineas per acre, and 
continues to produce a most luxuriant growth of 
white clover and other valuable plants. It is gene- 
rally allowed, that this permanent effect is always 
the consequence of sanding ; but that, by sea-weed, 
does not last longer than two crops, and the soil 
acquires the appearance and tenacity of clay; but, 
as they have an abundant and never-failing sup- 
ply of it, this effect is disregarded. When the 
two modes can be united, (which fortunately is 
generally the ease) it is reckoned a very superior 
management. 

Mr. Westby, who possesses a considerable tract 

in 



40 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

in the western part of the county, with one or 
two other proprietors, allowed their tenants for a 
few years some small premium for sanding their 
ground ; this had the best effects, as the quality 
of the crops was greatly improved, and the quan- 
tity much encreased ; and the herbage was so much 
changed, that, when let out to grass, even after 
the most barbarous system of deterioration, the 
ground was covered with white clover and other 
valuable plants ; and from land, that in its ori- 
ginal state only starved a few miserable sheep, 
fat mutton has been since sold in Kilrush market, 
and large quantities of milk and butter. The pre- 
mium for sanding has been discontinued for some 
years past, owing to some impositions practised by 
the tenants, claiming for more ground than they 
really manured.* The good effects, however, do 
and will for ever remain ; and one would imagine, 
that so very evident an improvement required no 
other premium than the superior quality and pro- 
ducts. The practice of sanding is chiefly con- 
fined to the parishes of Killard, Kilfieragh, Moy- 
ferta, and Kilballyhone. In the parish of Kilrush, 
vhere manure is easier to be had, and permission to 
burn the ground is not granted, they manure on 

the, 

* Tliis, amongst many other instances, proves how necessary a 
resident, active, intelligent agent is to an absentee ; had. one been 
here^ it is highly probable many hundred acres of Mr. Westby's wastes 
would have been ere now improved. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 41 

the lay, and plant, in the usual way, in ridges; 
the second year, potatoes without manure ; the third 
year wheat is sowed, and the fourth and fifth years 
oats; the ground is either manured again, and the 
same course pursued, or else let out to grass in the 
usual way without hay-seeds. 

A large portion of the tillage of the county is 
performed by the spade, especially that on the 
sides of mountains, or amongst rocks; the unevenness 
of the surface, and too often the pocket not an- 
swering for the expence of a plough and horses ; 
and some of the best corn of the country is pro- 
duced in this laborious and expensive manner. 

It is almost impossible to ascertain the quantity 
x>f grain and potatoes produced on an acre ; the 
quality of the soil, and superior or defective ma- 
nagement, must always occasion such a great variety 
of produce. The average produce of potatoes is 
from twelve to fifteen barrels of one hundred and 
twenty-eight stone each ; of wheat, from five to nine 
barrels of twenty stone each ; of oats, from ten to 
sixteen barrels of fourteen stone each ; of barley, 
from twelve to sixteen barrels of sixteen stone each. 
In Tradree the average of wheat is eight barrels; 
oats, sixteen to eighteen ; and of potatoes, thirty- 
two barrels of sixty stone each to the acre.* 

g Great 

* When Mr. Young made bis tour in 1779, the average of wheat 
was six barrels and an half; of oats, twelve barrels; of barley, twelve 

barrels j 



42 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Great improvements have lately been made, by 
the introduction of better kinds of grain than had 
been formerly in cultivation ; American wheat, intro- 
duced by the Rev. Frederick Blood ; white Essex, a 
most valuable kind, by Messrs. Burton and Fitzgerald, 
at Clifden ; some new and valuable kinds by Sir Ed- 
ward O'Brien ; also potatoe, Poland, and New Hol- 
land oats, are now become common in the county.* 
Bindon Blood, Esq. introduced a kind from England 
much superior to any of those, which on his removal 
from Riverston he left to the person, to whom he 
set the place ; on making enquiries, I found it was 
•purposely given to the fowl! Near Ennis, white wheat 
is called big wheat, and red lammas in some places 
is called ball wheat ; I found with one small far- 
mer velvet wheat, which he sold at a high price. 
The quantity of grain sowed per acre varies greatly ; 
in some places orAy ten stone of wheat are allowed, 
and twenty-eight stone of oats ; in others, fifteen 
and twenty stone of wheat, fourteen stone of oats, 
and sixteen stone of barley ; less wheat is always 
sowed to the acre in spring than m winter. 

It 

barrels; sinee that, to the great enerease in the cultivation of potatoes 
must be attributed the difference, and these have also encreased, 
for he states 1640 stone to be the average, whilst now it is 19'iO 
s^one. 

* I weighed a bushel of Poland oats, it weighed 39g lbs. ; a bushel of 
very good common oats of the country, only 33% lbs. ; a small quantify 
of Mr. Blood's new oats equal to upwards of 44 lbs. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 43 

It is generally thought that in Tradree, and about 
Six-mile-bridge, an equal quantity of ground is 
occupied by grass and tillage. Near the town of 
Ennis great quantities of onions are raised, and sold 
at all the fairs and markets, and are often sent to 
Limerick and Gal way, and sometimes to Dublin ; 
there is usually sowed in this neighbourhood alone 
upwards of 20 cwt. of onion-seed, and frequently 
great impositions are practised by carriers and others, 
speculating on bad seed in Dublin. 

The kinds of potatoes usually planted, are apples 
— blacks — cups — leather coats — grenadiers — lumpers 
— a few red-nose kidney by gentlemen— -red apple- 
white apple — white eyes — turks — barber's wonders— 
a few ox noble — a few yams or bucks — English reds 
— coppers — pink eyes, &c* There are more cups 
planted than of any other kind ; they are reckoned 
not only more productive, but vastly more nutritive, 
being more difficult of digestion, and, as the country 
people say, " they stay longer in the belly." 

To shew how far the best of our crops are behind 
what have been produced in ground in a very high 
degree of cultivation, the following statement is 
given from the best authority: 

c 2 Ifoung's 

* In the year 1672 potatoes seldom lasted longer than from August 
to May. Since that period, kinds have been obtained from seed, tha$ 
not only ripen earlier, but keep good for upwards of twelve months. 



44 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Barrels. 
Young's Eastern Tour, vol. I. p. 416. ..Oats per Ir. acre 29^ 

AnnalsofAgr. vol.lI.p.l59...Do. ,... 29£ 

Do «... vol.5, p. 240... Do 30-£ 

Eastern Tour, vol. 1. p. 401... Barley 25i£ 

Do vol. 3. p. 19. ..Do 28^ 

Annals of Ag. voL 2. p. 79. ..Do 29 

Do vol. 2. p. 243.. .Wheat 18f- 

Do vol. 12. p. 45. ..Do 19^ 

Do vol.2, p. ^3. ..Do 21^ 

I am perfectly convinced many will say this i& 
book farming, but such are not worth notice. If 
they wish for information from one in the county 
of Clare, let them ask Mr. Singleton, what his, or 
his father's crops on the corcasses have been ; forty 
barrels (of sixteen stone each) of here to the acre ^ 
thirty barrels (of twenty stone each) of beans per 
acre, &c. 



Sect. 2. Course of Crops. 

This, although the most material part of agri- 
culture, is in general the least understood ; one> in 
which the greatest abuses prevail, and which alL 
proprietors of land are deeply interested to effect 
a change into a better mode, without which no per- 
manent improvement can ever be expected. We 
may continue to import Scotch swing, and English 
wheel-ploughs, and other implements of utility or 
whim, but, unless we import along with them the 
best practices of each country, and steadily pursue 

them* 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 45 

them, in opposition to the old school stewards, it will 
only serve to bring them into disrepute with those, 
who are but too ready to catch at any opportunity 
to decry practices they do not understand. Sir 
Edward O'Brien has brought over a Scotch steward, 
to whom he pays sixty guineas per annum and his 
diet, and who has made a rapid change for the 
better in the farming of Dromoland : now if he only 
makes the ground produce half a barrel per acre more 
than formerly was done, this alone would make an 
addition of at least sixty guineas on a tillage farm 
of such extent (one hundred and thirty acres) ; but 
this is a very trifling part of the advantages to be 
derived from the skill and activity of such a man j* 
the value of his example, to so numerous a tenantry 
as Sir Edward possesses, is above all calculation. This 
is one of the happy effects of a resident and intelligent 
landlord. At Dromoland corn is not stacked in the 
field ; it is carried home from the stook, ricked, and 
immediately thatched, which saves much corn and 
fab our. 

It is very much the custom in this county, as 
well as in Galway, to allow stewards and gardeners 
to become small farmers and jobbers in cattle, &c- 

hy 

# The steward of the old school has little less, computing, with 
his wages, the value of cows grass, potatoe ground, house, turf, and 
a number of etceteras, which the indolence of his employer permitted 
him to lake; but the losses by the idleness of the workmen under hin^, 
from their considering him of the same tank as themselves, Iea«e aM 
calculation behind. 



46 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

by which their employers* business is always ne- 
glected, and frequently themselves injured ; they are 
almost always in debt to their masters. 

It is no uncommon thing to hear gentlemen, after 
having been in England for a few months, descant 
with rapture on the vast superiority of the agri- 
culture of that country, and, by way of contrast, 
patriotically compare them with the worst of ours. 
This may in some measure be accounted for from their 
associating with these English gentlemen, who have 
.made this most difficult science their particular study, 
and by their fashionable lounges to Woburn abbey, 
Holkam, and those other seats, where improved 
practices are conducted in a manner and on a scale, 
that very few of our travelling agriculturists are 
willing to try ; and, if they did make a beginning, 
I fear it is the character of too many of our gen* 
tlemen to grow tired, or grudge the necessary ex- 
pence to bring things to bear. Had they made ex- 
cursions into some of the remote counties of Ens:- 
land, they would have perceived practices to the full 
as absurd as cur very worst ; they would have seen 
four or more horses or oxen in a plough, with two 
drivers ; they would also have seen repeated corn 
crops taken, without an intervening green one ; lands 
undrained, full of rushes and weeds, &c. &c. 

That the improved practices of the sister country 
are superior to any in the world, will, I imagine, 

be 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 47 

-be readily conceded; but, ceteris paribus, the Eng- 
lish are not universally so very far before us, as their 
improvements in other branches of science would 
lead us to imagine. 

If the wretched course of cropping pursued in 
this county, that I have before mentioned, was only 
that of small farmers or cottiers, ignorance of better 
practices might be pleaded in extenuation ; but when 
we see them obstinately maintained by those, who, 
from their education and fortune, should be better 
informed, no animadversion, however severe, ought . 
to be withheld. What improvements can be ex- 
pected from tenants, when landlords are guilty of 
those very blameable practices ? In the course of my 
professional visits I have frequently expostulated 
with small farmers (great ones I always found too 
conceited of their own old ideas to listen with even 
patience to any change) on the ultimate ruin they 
would bring on their families by persevering in such 
a system of extreme deterioration, and at the same 
time endeavoured to impress them with the superior 
immediate (without that it was useless to speak to 
a poor man) and future profit of alternate green 
and white crops; the answer universally was, " What 
will you have a poor man do ? Surely if our prac* 
tices were bad, my Lord A. or Sir B. or Mr. C. 
would not pursue them." Until landed proprietors 
see with their own eyes, or procure those, from whom 

the 



4S STATISTICAL SURVEY 

the mist of prejudice has been dispelled, to conduct 
their business, this must ever remain a reproach and 
a loss to them and their tenantry. The ignorance, 
and consequent obstinacy of stewards of the old 
school, has tended more to prevent improvement in 
Ireland, than all other causes united ; those, that I 
have had opportunities of seeing in this count}', 
(with few exceptions) are ignorant in every re- 
spect of the management of a demesne or farm, 
and are at best bad overseers of labourers; and those, 
to whom many trust their property in buying and 
selling cattle, and who are all attached to stout 
lone, and a thick plump hock, or, according to 
an old Westmcath saying, beef to the heels, 
know no more of the value of a beast, than to ask, 
when selling, a great deal more than the value, 
and, when buying, to offer a great deal less. For 
the instruction of those few farmers, who are willing, 
but have not had any opportunity of seeing better 
practices, or, from the very high price of modern 
agricultural publications, have not found it conve- 
nient to procure those, where such practices arc 
detailed, I shall take the liberty of suggesting a 
course of crops and management, that will not 
only give a superior present profit, but, after any 
length of time, will leave the ground in still better 
heart, than when they began. The ruinous course 
I have before mentioned, is either to burn or manure, 

for, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. ¥j 

for, 1st, potatoes; 2d, potatoes; sometimes 3d, pota- 
toes; 4th, wheat; and then follow repeated crops 
of oats, until the soil is completely exhausted ; it 
remains then for several years almost totally un- 
productive, not even producing weeds but of the 
humblest growth. If, instead of this scourging 
course, which may be compared to a spendthrift 
living on the principal of his money, the following 
is adopted on light soils, (and of this description 
a great part of the county consists,) I am very 
confident it will never be abandoned; 1st, potatoes, 
either burned for, or manured ; 2d, wheat or barley ; 
3d, clover and ray-grass, sowed on the ground, 
occupied by the last crop, in the first moist weather 
in April or May, to remain for two years, and to 
be cut for soiling in the house ; then the ground to be 
^broken up in October, and remain until April, when 
it should be well harrowed, and stretched into fur- 
rows, thirty inches or three feet asunder, and ma- 
nured from the dung produced by the cattle, that 
had been fed on the clover in summer. The potatoes 
now, and for the future, should be planted in 
drills, and landed by the plough, and not in the 
expensive method of many in this county, who 
land their drills with spades and shovels ; after this 
the same course is to be repeated. In place of 
wheat or barley, oats may be substituted,, as the 
straw is much more valuable for feeding store cattle 

h in 



50 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

in winter. The farmer may rest assured that, in 
point of immediate profit alone, he will find a ma* 
terial difference, and the ground, instead of being 
greatly impoverished, will be vastly improved, both 
in fertility and freedom from weeds. 

The introduction of vetches, rape, turnips, &c. 
&c. must be gradually introduced, when a taste for 
improvement begins to dawn in the mind, when 
the cash he has made by the former course begins to. 
bum his pocket, and when the value of the clover 
gives him a favourable idea of the great value of 
green crops, and will convince him how erroneous 
the present notion of farmers is, that nothing but 
corn could pay rent ; until that period arises, (and 
I trust it is not far off,) it would only perplex and 
frighten those, for whose benefit this course is sug- 
gested. Whilst the small farmer is pursuing this 
profitable course, it is hoped those of more and 
better information, and larger income, will lead the 
way in the introduction and cultivation, on steady 
principles, of the best kind of green crops, in the 
most improved manner, and consumed in the house 
by stock ; then, and not before, we may expect 
such good practices will be generally adopted. 
Irish farmers are not that race of obstinate 
fools they are sometimes called by absentees, or 
their interested or ignorant agents or stewards ; 
they are no more wedded to the customs of their 

forefathers, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 51 

forefathers, than the English, or those of. any other 
country of the same rank. I have ever found them 
ready to listen, and willing to be instructed, if 
gentle methods are used ; but the language of pe- 
tulant reproach, so often used to them, is by no 
means calculated to make proselytes : how quietly 
an English farmer would bear such language from 
a stranger riding along the road, as, ff Damn you, 
you stupid rascal, why don't you use two horses to 
your plough ?" fcle certainly would return the com- 
pliment, and perhaps might make some additions 
to it. 

The practice o.f ploughing with only two horses 
or oxen (still a driver) has been adopted within a 
few years by many, who formerly used never less 
than four, sometimes six ; example here, as in all 
other cases, is worth volumes of precept. Fal- 
lowing is still practised, but not to the extent it 
formerly was ; the great encrease in the cultivation 
of potatoes has lessened this odious custom ; the 
rise in rents too has undoubtedly contributed to this 
desirable abolition ; low rents have always tended 
to make farmers indolent. It is to be hoped, that 
farmers will at length become sensible of the loss 
they sustain by this triennial tax, more ruinous in 
its consequences than those, about which there is 
always so much croaking ; but this is a voluntary 
one, therefore more palatable. Two successive 
h 2 crops 



52 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

crops of wheat are sometimes taken, but not often. 
According to the slovenly mode of tallowing 
in this county, and, I may add, the greater 
part of Ireland, it has not the intended effect of 
destroying weeds, but with respect to perennial 
weeds, that propagate by the root, a quite contrary 
one, as it only divides the roots and encreases them;, 
for few ever think of picking them off, and annual 
and biennial weeds are permitted to ripen their seeds, 
before the ground is ploughed ; the proper period 
for this operation is, when the young weeds are an 
inch or two high, when they are either turned into 
the ground and become a trifling manure, or are ex- 
posed to the sun and air, and destroyed. It is by 
no means uncommon in this county, as well as in the 
county of Dublin, to see thistles, docks, rag-weed, 
and other pernicious sorts in full seed, before they 
are turned in by the plough, or rather left with 
their heads sticking up between the furrows, where 
they come to maturit} T . 

The extraordinary exertions made by small far- 
mers and cottiers to procure manure (in many cases 
to the very great injury of the roads,) would lead 
one to think, that very little attention, aided by 
example from landlords, would easily induce them 
to abandon this practice : for, to accomplish the 
accumulation of this sine qua non of agriculture, 
cows and other beasts are generally kept in the 

house 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 53 

house in winter, and fed with potatoes, usually boiled 
and mixed with bran, if the price is reasonable. 
Of the value of potatoes for this purpose they are 
so perfectly sensible, that it would be an easy matter 
to induce them to cultivate a small portion of ground 
with rape, vetches, clover, turnips, or any of 
those other valuable plants, which the improvements 
in modern husbandry have so happily introduced 
into field culture. If we advert to the endless 
variety of soils, in which the potatoe thrives, to the 
universal knowledge of the mode of its cultivation, 
to its ameliorating properties, especially, if planted 
in drills, to its undisputed fattening quality, to the 
superiority it possesses over every other vegetable 
production for cattle, of keeping good for upwards 
of twelve months, to the ease and perfect safety, 
■with which it is kept in large quantities, and to 
many other advantages, which must occur to every 
agriculturist, it deserves the most serious attention 
of those enlightened farmers, to ascertain, by steady 
and well conducted experiments, whether it should 
not in a great measure supersede the use of many others, 
especially since the introduction of spring wheat. 
Beans were, formerly sowed to a great extent in 
the rich lands near the river Shannon and Fergus, 
but this culture has greatly declined. Mr. O'Brien 
of Cratilow had a very fine crop of beans in 1807, 
and the same year, after pulling the beans, mowed 

a verv 



Si STATISTICAL SURVEY 

a very abundant crop of hay, but it must be re- 
membered it was on corcass land : it is the opi- 
nion of a gentleman perfectly conversant in the 

nature of corcass lands, that, if beans and oats were 

it 
sowed alternately, they would produce abundant 

crops for ever. When these lands are first em- 
banked, they are of such fertility, that little else 
than straw is produced. Captain Palliser near Bun- 
ratty reclaimed a good deal of this land ; the first 
year barley, all straw ; then seven successive crops 
of potatoes without manure; and in 1807 I saw 
the oats, that followed these; it was very long 
in the straw, and well headed ; he intends to 
follow this with several crops of the same grain, 
and is certain of each crop encreasing in pro- 
ductiveness. 

I have heard it asserted that, when the ground, 
from repeated oat crops, becomes full of couch-grass 
and other weeds, and somewhat impoverished, a crop 
of beans is taken, which not only cleans the ground, 
but restores its usual fertility, and they commence 
again with exhausting crops of oats. A very com- 
mon course on corcass ground is; 1st, potatoes, 
without manure ; 2d, wheat; 3d, wheat; 4th, oats, 
with clover and hay-seeds ; 5th, very fine meadow ; 
it may be easily judged, what ground it is, that 
could produce such meadow after such a scourging 
rotation. 

Sect. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. is 



Sect. 3. v Use of Oxen, and how harnessed. 

Oxen are not much used in husbandry ; they 
are thought not to step quick enough, especially to 
meet the hurry of spring work ; I am convinced 
this partly proceeds from not selecting them ; large 
and strong^boned oxen are usually sought after 
for this purpose, without once considering, that 
heavy beasts of every kind are unfit for work, that 
requires dispatch ; if, on the contrary, middle-sized 
oxen {and whose activity of step was previously 
ascertained) were selected, this objection would 
have little weight. This difference of step seems 
to be wholly disregarded by farmers, and, when 
young oxen are to be broke kito the draft, the se* 
lection is usually committed to a bigoted ignorant 
ploughman, who generally chooses the largest, be- 
cause he thinks strength the only thing necessary ; 
another thing materially injures the step of oxen #j 
the laziness of both ploughman and driver. 

A strong corroboration of what is before ad- 
vanced, occurred at the ploughing match of the 
Farming Society of Ireland, at Huntstown, in March 
1805 ; the Rev. Mr. Symes of Ballyarthur, in the 
county of Wicklow, obtained the premium and cup 
for the best ploughing from several competitors; 
it was performed by two small spayed heifers, who 

beat 



56 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

beat several pair of very fine horses in quickness 
of step, and, contrary to the general idea, that 
oxen, if quick steppers, are apt to be blown or 
lose their wind, these were as little affected at the 
conclusion as the best horses in the field. Ano- 
ther instance of tlieir equality with horses occurred 
at the ploughing match at Mr. Shaw's at Terrenure; 
two beasts did their work equal to the best pair 
of horses in the field. Sometimes oxen, and horses 
or mules, are united in a plough ; but of ail the 
preposterous customs, which time and ignorance 
have sanctioned, this seems to be the greatest ; 
frequently a large sluggish ox is coupled to a young 
spirited quick-stepped horse or mule ; at first the 
horse exhausts his strength, but at length, finding 
his advantage in becoming as lazy as the ox, he 
ever after retains the slow step, as may be seen 
in every part of Ireland, where the loss, by the 
disgusting snail's pace of both ploughman and 
horses, is a very heavy drawback on the profits of 
farming., and is the cause of great injury in spring 
to those horses, who are beat into a quickness of 
step they have not been used to, and are frequently 
killed by their cruel masters. 

The question so often and so long before tbe 
.public, whether the use of horses or oxen is more 
economical for agricultural work, remains still un- 
decided. The advocates for horses contend, that, 

though 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 57 

though they cost more to purchase, require better 
keeping, eat more than oxen, and are of infinitely 
less value, if injured, or when past their labour, yet 
the superior agility of their motions, enabling them . 
to perform a greater quantity of work, more than 
.counterbalances the low price, cheaper keeping, and 
superior value of the ox when past his labour. The 
comparison has probably never been fairly made ; it 
has been almost always between large sluggish oxen, 
ill fed, and middle-sized quick-stepped horses, fed 
with oats twice or three times a day. What far- 
mer ever thought, when he went to a fair to buv 
a team of oxen, of making them step out before 
him ? He only looks to those, who are likely to grow 
to a large size, and who have plenty of bone in their 
legs, without once considering whether they move 
fast or slow ; on the contrary, if he wishes to pur- 
chase horses, they are made to go through all their 
movements, and rejected if their step is sluggish; 
no wonder, therefore, that oxen are more slow in 
their motions; but put a pair of those lubberly, 
heavy-legged, black horses, that were lately most 
injudiciously attempted to be introduced from Lei- 
cestershire, by the side of Mr. Symes's heifers for a 
day's ploughing against time, and a more forcible 
light will be thrown on the subject, than by any thing 
I could say. The proper feeding of working oxen 
is generally most shamefully neglected, and falls 
1 most 



5$ STATISTICAL SURVEY 

most deservedly on the hard-hearted niggard his 
owner : if they get hay, they are generally thought 
to be uncommonly well fed ; no wonder, therefore, 
that they are slow in their movements. What sort of 
step, and for what continuance, would horses have, 
if fed in spring with hay alone? I have seen, at a 
very celebrated seat near Dublin, oxen fattening for 
the Farming Society's shew, pampered with every 
vegetable delicacy modern agriculture could pro- 
duce ; within a few yards stood a team of miserable 
creatures, nothing but skin and bone ; they fre- 
quently lay down whilst at work in the plough ; not 
a potatoe, cabbage, or carrot was thrown to these 
poor animals, nothing but indifferent hay, the refuse 
of the fattening cattle ; the steward, an Irish Eng- 
lishman, " know'd all the English practices, aye that 
" he did, know'd oxen never would stand it, not 
u they, and he told master so, that he did, but master 
" would have his way, and now he seed the conse- 
11 quence." The consequence of this ignorance and 
prejudice was, that, instead of turning them out 
Avhen the spring work was finished in May, in good 
store order, which they would have been if well 
fed, besides doing twice the quantity of work, they 
were obliged to be kept over another year to fatten, 
before they were fit for Dublin market ; and, as the 
land was worth at least six pounds per acre, they 
cost upwards of twenty pounds each to make them 

fat, and this without any green winter feeding. 

Tq 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. £9 

To make the comparison fairly, the feeding should 
be alike ; if they get Swedish turnip, potatoes, or 
bruised furze, it must not be understood to mean, that 
they will be able to perform hard spring work without 
a portion of corn, but they ought certainly to make 
a considerable part of their food. Mr. Young, in 
his most excellent Farmer's Kalendar, p. 263, says, 
"Swedish turnip is, next to carrots, 'the very best 
food, that can be given to horses." 

Oxen are not so liable to accidents as horses, 
nor to be ridden by lazy or vicious servants; where 
one beast only is kept, a horse will be always found 
most useful, but, where many are necessary, some 
of each sort will probably be found most economical. 
Michael Blood, Esq. when living at Roxton, formerly 
tried oxen, but imagined they were constantly lame, 
from gravel getting between their claws. William 
Burton, Esq. of Clifden, has used oxen in all kinds 
of work, and found them to stand well on their 
legs, and always in good order. 

The Earl of Egremont, who uses oxen entirely, 
allows his English tenants three per cent, of their 
annual rent, if they conform to his example. How 
praise-worthy would some premiums for the im- 
provement of the agriculture of his numerous te- 
nantry in this county be ? Surely they have a right to 
expect some encouragement, to compensate them 
for his total absence ; it is certain there are no tenants 
l 2 in 



CO STATISTICAL SURVEY 

in this county, whose agriculture wants the fostering 
hand of a landlord more; deterioration may be 
found with them in great perfection ; and even middle- 
men, who enjoy large incomes under him, are so 
far from setting a good example, that they are usually 
the very worst kind of tenant an absentee can have, 
and the greatest tyrants to cottier tenants. I shall 
have occasion r to say more of these gentlemen in 
another place. Oxen are now in many places guided 
by a ring in the nose - y this always remains, and does 
not in the least prevent his feeding. Collars are 
also used by many, but the .barbarous custom of 
working these poor creatures in yokes and bows 
is still continued. 

In Tradree a good many oxen are used, but 
generally in yokes. 

Sect. 4 . Nature (hid use of Implements of Husbandry, 

The plough of this county is very ill calculated 
to perform good work ; one of its greatest defects is, 
the sole not lying flat on the bottom of the furrow, 
by which means small ribs are left unploughed, 
which in wet soils (especially where the ridiculous 
custom of cross-ploughing is practised) prevents the 
water from running into the furrow, and in winter 
is highly prejudicial. It may be set down as an 
axiom, that, when the ploughman does not preserve 

an 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 6i 

an erect posture at his work, it is badly executed ; 
the furrow after good ploughing should be perfectly 
flat at the bottom, and the cut on the land side 
quite perpendicular ; the share is seldom broad 
enough to cut the furrow, consequently great ad- 
ditional force is necessary to tear instead of to cut 
the sod ; even if the fin should accidentally be ori- 
ginally broad enough, in a short time it wears almost 
off, and becomes quite blunt ; this, and the general 
bluntness of the coulter, causes a great encrease of 
draft. The Scotch plough, according to the im- 
proved principles, seems to be one of the best we 
have yet adopted ; it turns a sod nine or ten inches 
broad, and five or six inches deep, in stiff soils, with 
the assistance of only a pair of horses or oxen 
without a driver, in a much superior manner, and 
with more ease to both cattle and ploughman, than 
such work is usually effected in this county by four 
horses, and one, and very often two drivers, and, not 
unfrequently, a man to keep the plough in the 
ground by pressing on the end of the beam with 
a pitchfork. It very rarely happens, that the fur- 
rows are made straight; the person, who leads the 
horses, cannot possibly guide them in a right line ; 
he is too much occupied in beating them (four in 
a breast) in the face to make them go forward ; 
and the furrow, from the faulty construction of 
the plough, is generally so badly defined, that the 

horses 



62 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

horses deviate from it, and form curves not unlike 
those tame and gently waving outlines, which sortie 
of our modern improvers are fond of in planting. 
Besides, the ploughman scarcely ever takes his eye 
off the furrow, he has enough to do to keep the 
plough in the ground ; if, on the contrary, the plough- 
man holds the reins, his eye is constantly fixed on 
some object on the headland, which he sees between 
the horses' ears, who scarcely ever deviate from the 
square and clean furrow, that a good plough leaves ; 
and the work is not only performed with exactness, 
but with ease to the horses, and, except in strong 
ground, the ploughman has seldom any exertion to 
make, the plough often running several perches with- 
out any assistance from him. At every ploughing 
match poles are set up on the headlands, to which 
a good ploughman runs his furrow nearly as even 
as if it had been cut by a garden line ; a leader 
to a plough would find this almost impossible, as 
has been often proved at ploughing matches, where 
attachment to old ridiculous customs has induced 
some farmers to expose themselves by sending 
ploughs drawn by four horses or oxen ; the result 
has been, without an exception, that their work was 
the very worst in the field, and even executed in 
a longer period than that by two horses.* 

Sir 

* I have frequently had the upp-r part of drains ploughed out, 
i>y placing stakes at each end, and executed as straight as if by a line. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 63 

Sir Edward O'Brien, the Rev. Frederick Blood, 
and Mr. Burton of Clifden, have adopted the Scotch 
plough, with two horses or oxen, worked with collars 
and no driver, and find every advantage, that could 
be wished for. To shew the benefit of good ex- 
ample, I have seen a neighbouring small farmer 
landing his potatoes in drills, thirty inches asunder, 
with a plough ; so much superior is example to pre- 
cept. In many parts of this county, and on light 
soils, they are so obstinate as to use four horses 
abreast in what can only be called scratching the 
ground, it could not be termed ploughing. The 
traces are generally made of rope, sometimes with 
iron thimbles, but seldom with collars ; those made 
of straw, called sugans, are usually substituted. 

The common harrows of the country are of various 
sizes ; they usually have five bars ; they are of very 
rude workmanship and materials, and the teeth are 
so fixed, that several follow each other in the same 
line. There has been lately a new kind of harrow 
adopted at the Implement Society's works on the 
North wall, that is reckoned superior to any former 
one ; it consists of two small harrows joined in the 
middle, by which means it has not only the longi- 
tudinal motion of the old form, but has that hust- 
ling latitudinal one so desirable in rough ground ; 
it is drawn by two horses, but each horse draws 
bis own harrow, a mode that, if possible, should be 

adopted in all kinds of farming operations. 

Carts 



64 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Carts are used by only a few gentlemen ; those 
made in the country are sometimes called Scotch 
carts, but the principles, on which they are made, 
are little understood by carpenters ; they may have 
the appearance, and be painted blue with red wheels, 
(a plan adopted lately by every botching carpenter,) 
yet be deficient in good principles. Sir Edward 
O'Brien has Scotch carts, admirably contrived for 
farming work ; they are, 1st, carts ; 2d, by the 
addition of cradles, they become harvest waggons ; 
and, 3d, on the same wheels and shafts a frame goes 
on, that converts them into very capacious turf- 
waggons ; the naves are of cast metal. Cars, called 
here truckles, and in other counties Munster cars, 
and of a ver} 7 bad construction, are generally used ; 
the axletree is always of wood, and so very thick, 
that a great deal of unnecessary friction is caused; 
they are usually sold ready made, including straddle 
and hames of ash, for \l. 14s. \.UL — five stone of 
iron, 17s. 6d. — smith, 9s. 9d. — in all 3/. Is. 4^/. 
Much loss of labour is occasioned by not having 
the turf-kishes sufficiently capacious to draw a proper 
load for a strong horse; large unwieldy machines 
for this purpose are sometimes seen, in which four 
or six oxen or horses are harnessed. I have seen, 
in the streets of Ennis, six unfortunate oxen draw- 
ing one of these cumbrous machines; they drew 
by yokes and bows on their bare shoulders, seem- 
ingly 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 65 

ingly much distressed; between the pain occasioned 
by this barbarous mode, and the ill construction 
of the machine, the load, though it appeared a 
mountain of turf, and was a cause of great exulta- 
tion to the drivers, did not contain near so much 
as they could have drawn, if harnessed singly ; for 
I observed, that, instead of pursuing a right line, 
they often staggered against each other, and devi- 
ated considerably, in so much, that I am convinced 
two of them frequently drew the whole ; they drew 
twenty-one Irishes of dry turf; singly, they would 
have drawn a much greater proportion. 

In some few places the slide car without wheels 
is still used, and generally .made of bog timber ; 
for drawing loads down steep hills it is an useful 
implement, as it does not run on the horse's heels 
like the wheel car. 

The other implements are spades, called in some 
parts of Ireland loys or Jacks* They are inconve- 
nient heavy tools, throwing the weight on one hand, 
and greatly inferior in handmess and strength to 
those in use in some parts of the county of Meath, 
and other parts of Leinster. When they become 
worn, they are narrow in the blade and short, and 
most unfit for cutting in bog, or for moving loose 
earth ; spades for this purpose should be very broad. 
I have seen upwards of forty men cutting drains in 
a bog, with these worn-down spades; the sod usually 

K fell 



66 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

fell off two or three times, and not unfrequently 
it was left for the shovel ; as to pitching it to any 
distance, as it should be, that was quite out of the 
question ; the custom in this county, and indeed in 
most others, is to leave every thing for the shovel : 
in arranging labourers, the stewards of this county 
allot a shovel to every spade, though a good sho- 
veller could easily keep two spades employed ; but 
the good-natured spadesman, to prevent the shovel 
■wanting work, does not throw any of the earth up 
on the bank, and the steward, wrapped up in his 
great frize coat, takes no notice of this indolent 
habit. 

Stewards and gardeners, who have even been in 
England, when they come into this country, too 
often conform to all the bad practices, and use all 
the unhandy implements of the country. Shovels 
are generally bad and too heavy : pitchforks are 
almost always too short in the prongs, and rakes 
with teeth so short, that much of the hay is left 
behind. Every kind of tool has a bad handle, ge- 
nerally crooked, and too small and pliant, partly 
from a scarcity of wood, and a partiality to a 
bent handle. Scythes and reaping-hooks, of the 
usual form, from England ; but the first are so badly 
set in the handle, that a man, to mow as close 
as he should do, must almost touch the ground 
with his knuckles; as the mower does not choose to 

injure 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 67 

injure his back by this posture, he is permitted 
by his indolent employer to leave a large portion 
of grass uncut, between where the point and heel 
of the scythe meet in different swaths. 

Slanes for cutting turf generally too large. Wheel- 
barrows very bad; by the faulty position of the 
wheel, the entire weight is thrown on the hand, 
and they do not carry one-third of the weight 
they could with those, where the wheel is brought 
under the body. Some few gentlemen have potatoe 
washers, and still fewer have winnowing machines. 
I have not heard of any threshing machine in 
the county, but those belonging to Sir Edward 
O'Brien, and Boyle Vandeleur, Esq. with which he 
threshes forty barrels of oats (of fourteen stone each) 
in eight hours with two horses, smart work. 

Sect. 5. Markets for Grain, 

The principal markets for the sale of grain are 
Ennis, Innistymon, Clare, Skarriff, Six-mile-bridge, 
and Kilrush. Some are abundantly supplied, as Ennis, 
Clare and Kilrush, where grain is purchased very much 
for the Limerick exporters; the others are chiefly 
supplied with oats and barley, and some wheat. 

The different flour-mills take off a large quantity 
of the produce. The greater part of the barley 
is consumed in the private stills, that abound in 
every part of the county, and, however they may 
K 2 have 



6S STATISTICAL SURVEY 

have injured the morals and health of the inha- 
bitants, they have certainly tended to encrease the 
quantity of tillage. The market of Kilrush is rising 
rapidly into consequence, and, if capital was not 
•wanting, would take still larger strides, as, instead 
of buying on Commission for the Limerick mer- 
chants, as practised at present, there would be a 
direct intercourse with Liverpool and other ports 
in England, not only for corn, but for beef, butter, 
pork, and rape-seed, which last is becoming an 
article of agricultural produce, that deserves every 
encouragement, because so materially connected 
■with the improvement of the extensive bogs, with 
which this neighbourhood abounds, there not being 
less in one tract than four miles square ; besides, 
the additional expence of shipping and reshipping, 
and loss of time in going up the Shannon, a distance 
of upwards of forty miles, would be saved. There 
has been lately a very commodious and handsome 
market-house built here by Mr. Vandeleur. The 
market-house of Conform is at present almost use- 
less, as all corn not purchased at Clifden mills is sent 
to Ennis; to the disgrace of the Roman Catholic 
inhabitants, it is the chapel at present, and on Sun- 
day morning the ball-players are turned out, to 
make room for the priest to celebrate mass, after 
which the ball-playing again commences. A fertr 
years since, a good deal of money was collected ; 

amongst 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 69 

amongst many others, Sir Edward O'Brien contri- 
buted twenty pounds, and many neighbouring Pro- 
testants also gave liberally for the erection of a 
Catholic chapel, but, after building a part of it, 
all further proceeding has been stopped, and it re- 
mains a reproach to the managers. 

The market-house of Tullagh is also at present 
useless, except to the horses of those, who attend 
divine worship at either church or chapel. 

The payment for corn at the mills, and by those, 
who buy on commission, is usually by bills at dif- 
ferent dates, sometimes cash, and often part cash, 
to answer present demands, and the remainder by 
bills j an agreement is usually made by the seller, 
that he shall have not less than a certain present 
price, -and whatever rise in the market (if any) 
there shall be between that period and a certain 
remote one, perhaps three or four months from the 
time he delivers his corn. 

This is a wretched mode, dictated only by want 
of capital, and is frequently the cause of much dis- 
puting, and often of litigation, and sometimes loss 
to the seller, as lately happened by the failure of 
a commission house ; but this practice has lately 
been abolished in many places. I could not Rnd, 
that the want of the inland bounty on the carriage 
of corn to Dublin, formerly paid, has in the least 
diminished the produce of corn ; whatever objec- 
tions 



70 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

tions may have been formerly made against the 
propriety of this act, it cannot be denied, that it 
caused the erection of a great number of extensive 
flour-mills, and of course promoted the cultivation 
of corn in districts, where, from want of this en- 
couragement, scarcely more was produced than 
supplied the home consumption. Indeed the bounty 
paid in this county was very trifling, amounting in 
sixteen years to little more than 800/. whilst in 
Kilkenny, during the same period, upwards of 
151,000/. was paid. Whatever may have been the 
merits or faults of the measure, I am perfectly con- 
vinced, that any encouragement to convert grass- 
land to tillage will be greatly misapplied, until an 
ameliorating course of cropping is one of the in- 
dispensable conditions, and could have been only 
dictated by those, who know more of financial and 
commercial affairs than of agriculture. The vast 
quantity of communications to the Board of Agri- 
culture on this subject, if we were to judge from 
what have been published, shews how little the 
matter is understood even in England ; one signed 
G. S. C. and republished by the Dublin Society in 
their Transactions, is particularly objectionable. 

The good effects of either bounties or restrictions 
(with some few exceptions) on any kind of agri- 
cultural produce are at least doubtful, a certainty 
of a demand and a good price being much more 

likely 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 71 

likely to encourage an extended cultivation than 
an act of parliament. See what the high price of 
rape has done ; there are many thousand barrels of 
it produced in this county, which all the premiums 
offered by the Dublin Society, or the example of 
some very few landlords, could not effect ; the high 
price and certainty of a sale at Limerick did wonders. 
How many exposed themselves to ridicule a few 
years since, when they proposed to enact laws to 
oblige farmers to bring in their corn, and to establish 
a maximum of price? How these wise heads would 
shake, if a maximum of rent/of their estates, or on 
commercial productions, was proposed ? But it seems 
they imagined, as too many ignorant people do, 
that agriculture was of less consequence than any 
other branch of commerce, and the plough a less 
useful instrument than the loom or shuttle. The 
cultivation of rape is in a great measure free from 
the objections, that have been before stated against 
breaking up grass-lands for tillage, because, being 
usually sowed on bog or moor, this kind of soil is 
not so easily injured, and would otherwise remain 
totally unproductive. No bounty, public or private, 
should be given for any corn crop, that did not 
succeed or was not followed by a green one ; and the 
Farming Society of Ireland are so far defective in 
their premiums for corn, as they confine them to 
quality and quantity of grain per acre. 

A large 



72 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

A Jarge quantity of oats is consumed by the cavalry 
in the different surrounding towns; that of Gort 
alone consumes about 3500 barrels of fourteen stone 
each, at from 10s. to 14s. per barrel; about 800 tons 
of hay, at from 50s. to 3/- 8*. 3d. per ton ; and of 
straw about 400 tons ; this consumption must be of 
great service to the country. Bad oats sell for* as 
much to the contractors as the best, which is not 
a little extraordinary, as the army are usually very 
particular in the quality of their forage. 

Sect. 6. Use of Green Food in Winter. 

Potatoes are very much used in winter for 
milch cows and pigs; every cottier knows their 
value. The Rev. Frederick Blood, Mr. Blood, late 
of Riverston, and Mr. Burton of Clifden, have cul- 
tivated rape and borecole for this purpose, and 
found them of great benefit in spring ; many others 
from their example are now preparing for their cul- 
tivation ; they only want to be better known to 
ensure a general culture. Sheep prefer rape to 
borecole ; when they have been turned into a field, 
where both plants were growing in great luxuriance, 
they scarcely touched the borecole, until the rape 
was all eaten ; and it is remarkable, that there were 
many variegated curled borecole, which remained 
untouched, until the plain curled borecole was nearly 
finished. ^ Q 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 73 

Tbe graziers say, that the perpetual verdure of 
their land, especially on the calcareous soils, pre- 
cludes the necessity of providing either hay or any 
cultivated green food. In those vast tracts of rocky 
ground in Burrin, devoted almost exclusively to the 
rearing of sheep, the use of hay is almost unknown, 
(indeed if necessary it could not easily be had,) 
and the continuance of snow for any length of time 
is very uncommon ; if this should happen, immense 
numbers must starve, or be lost amongst the rocks. 
On lands, on which a Leinster man would think 
his cattle would starve, I have often seen a bite 
for them in March, caused by the natural fertility 
of the soil, and the shelter of the limestone-rocks, 
which is also of the greatest benefit to stock in winter 
and inclement springs. In this part of the county the 
graziers are very much in the practice of permitting 
their summer grass to remain untouched until the 
following spring j it is called here winterage, and 
in England rouen, and, where it will stand, as in this 
country, is of inestimable value, and frequently sells 
for a much higher price than it would have done 
in summer, especially when a low price for cattle 
induces graziers to keep over some of their stock 
to another season. 

In other parts of the county, that do not pos- 
sess these advantages, green winter food would be 
of infinite benefit, especially in the eastern and 
* western 



14 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

western extremities, where, from the retentive nature 
of the substratum, and a total want of drainage, 
vegetation is greatly retarded ; here green food would 
be inestimable, particularly rape, as, after the head 
is cut off, or the leaves stripped from the stalk, the 
plants should stand for seed; and, from some experi- 
ments I have tried, I know, that those plants, whose 
heads are cut off, are less liable to the mildew, than * 
when they are left on. As the cultivation of this 
plant is beginning to be well known, I hope the land- 
lords will exert themselves to introduce this prac- 
tice amongst their tenantry, as they may rest 
assured no one thing will tend more to encrease 
their rent-roll than the spirited cultivation of this 
plant ; they need but cast their eyes to their im- 
mense tracts of bog and mountain, to be convinced 
of this fact. When it is intended to use rape for 
both purposes, it should be sowed earlier than is 
commonly practised ; the end of June or beginning 
of July would not be too soon. Too much seed 
is always used, and the plants never thinned, which 
causes the seed to be small, and more unproductive 
than if left thinner; if they were thinned to nine- 
or ten inches asunder, much more anjd better seed 
would be produced ; when it is used for green food, 
it should be cut previous to the first of March, as 
cutting after that period would very much injure 
it for seed, and,, too much of the head should not 

he 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 75 

be cut off. If it could be accomplished, the best 
method is to transplant h into drills about thirty 
inches asunder; this would give an opportunity of 
landing them, which would tend greatly to improve 
bog, and indeed every kind of soil. 

The farmers in the west. of the county, who have 
been for many years in the habit of cultivating oats, 
as best suiting their moory soils, in very bad weather 
feed their cattle on straw alone, and, from their 
defective management in saving it, it is usually 
ver}' indifferent. Few have more hay than serves 
their horses, and some not near enough, in which 
case they must put up with bad straw, and little 
or no oats. This county may well be called the 
horse's purgatory. 



L 2 CHAP. 



76 STATISTICAL SURVEY 



CHAP. III. 



PASTURE. 



Sect. 1. Nature of it. 

THE pasture of this county possesses that va- 
riety necessary for rearing and fattening stock of 
every species and age. The low grounds on the 
rivers Shannon and Fergus, called corcasses, are 
equal to the fattening of the largest sized oxen ; 
these fine grounds extend from Paradise to Lime- 
rick, an extent of upwards of twenty miles, fol- 
lowing the course of the Shannon and Fergus, and 
are computed to contain upwards of 20,000 acres, 
some say only about 10,000 ; they consist of a deep 
dark-coloured earth, generally overablueish or black 
clay, or moory substratum, producing, from the 
greatest neglect, amongst the most luxuriant herb- 
age, a great quantity of rushes and other pernicious 
weeds. Indeed the same complaint may be made 
of the lands of every grazier in Ireland ; they are 
in general the most slovenly farmers, and none ever 
think of mowing thistles, nettles, fern, or even briars, 

except 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. Tl 

except their wives, whose perquisite ashes are, get 
them cut for this purpose. These corcasses about 
thirty years since let for 20s. per acre, but now 
many are let at the enormous rent of 5l. merely 
for the purpose of fattening cattle, and sometimes 
much higher for meadow. Totally opposite in their 
nature and uses are the limestone crags of Burrin, 
and the eastern part of the baronies of Corcomroe 
and Inchiquin ; these are, with some few excep* 
tions, devoted to the rearing of young cattle and 
sheep, and some so very rocky, that four acres 
could not feed a sheep ; intermixed with these crags 
may be found some ground of a very fattening qua- 
lity, producing the finest flavoured mutton, where a 
person, ignorant of this quality, would imagine sheep 
could scarcely exist ; in soils of this excellent nature 
white clover, trefoil, and yarrow predominate. 
Large tracts of these mountains are let by the bulk, 
and not by the acre. The pasture of the other baro- 
nies possesses every variety, from the mountain pro- 
ducing scarcely any thing but heath and carex of 
various sorts, and which scarcely keep young cattle 
alive, until it gradually melts into the rich corcass, 
that supplies the merchants of Cork and Limerick 
with immense quantities of beef for the navy. 
Pasture in the hands of the lower kinds of farmers 
and cottiers is generally very bad, owing to the 
system they universally pursue, in taking repeated 

com 



78 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

corn crops, and scarcely ever sowing any kind of 
grass-seeds, but leaving the ground to nature, who 
Seldom fails in a few years to clothe their fields 
with grass ; but in the mean time they must suffer 
great losses. Their pastures are usually overstocked, 
especially on those estates, where the landlord or 
his agent are so blind to their interest, as to grant 
leases in partnership ; here every man wishes to 
keep as much stock as possible. In the eastern 
and western extremities of the county, the land 
usually consists uf reclaimed mountain or bog, and, 
as they scarcely ever use any kind of calcareous 
manure, the pasture generally consists of coarse 
sour grasses^ and carex of various sorts, which, if 
not eaten too bare, sustains a small number of young 
cattle, but infinitely short of the number it could, if 
improved by draining and liming. The ground be- 
tween Poulinisky and Carigaholt is remarkable for 
producing good milk and butter; and there is a 
small field near Kilrush, which, though it will fatten 
a cow in a very short time, will take away the 
milk of the best milker in a few weeks ; if this 
information is correct, the investigation of the ve- 
getable productions of this field might lead to some 
useful fact interesting to the botanist as well as 

grazier. * 

The 

* I did not receive this information, until I had left the neigh- 
bourhood, or I would have endeavoured to throw some light on the 
subject. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 19 

The murrain was a very common and fatal dis- 
order some years since ; like the rot in sheep, it 
exercised the ingenuity of conjecture and quack- 
ery ; it was by some imputed to a worm with a 
very large head, and of very vivid colours, which, 
it was said, poisoned the water, that the cattle drank; 
by others it was conjectured, that some poisonous 
plant (the seed of which, I suppose, dropped from 
the clouds at that particular period) caused it, 
and which most fortunately asses were fond of 
(how lucky !) ; for this happy propensity they were 
purchased by many sagacious graziers, and the 
murrain ceasing about this period, the asses had 
all the honor, and it is still usual to keep two or 
three of these animals on a farm ; the number of 
cattle killed by this dreadful disease was immense ; 
many persons lost almost the entire of their stock, 
and were completely beggared; however the cure 
of it may have been effected, it has not been known 
for several years. 

A peculiar kind of pasturage occupies the sand- 
hills opposite to Liscanor bay, and along the shore 
from Miltown to Dunbeg ; they consist entirely 
of sand blown in by the westerly winds ; this is 
arrested in its flight by the growth of the following 
plants, and has accumulated to immense hills, and 
at a good distance from the shore ; in many places 
they prevent the ravages of the^tide, and are a 

mud* 



so 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



much safer barrier than those immense cliffs, which 
guard other parts of the coast, and into which the 
sea is making rapid progress. 



White clover, 

Red clover, 

Birds-foot trefoil, 

Yellow medick, 

Meadow soft grass, 

Sheep's fescue, 

Annual meadow-grass, 
or Suffolk-grass, 

Dandelion, 

Coltsfoot, 

Black medick, 

Ragweed, 

Ribwort plantain, 

Crested dogs-tail-grass, 

Yarrow, 

Daisies, 

Sea-reed, mat-weed, or 
bent, such as is used 
for making floor- mats 
in Dublin, 

Several sorts of thistles, 

Yellow flag iris, in great"\ 
luxuriance in several f 
feet depth of pure sea- f 
sand, on thesea-shore, ) 

Rough cocks-foot-grass, 



Trifolium repens. 
Trifolium pratense. 
Lotus corniculatus. 
Medicago falcata. 
Holcus lanatus. 
Festuca ovina. 

Poa annua. 

Leohtodon. 
Tussilago. 

Trifolium lupulinum. 
Senecio jacobaea. 
Plantago lanceolata. 
Cynosurus cristatus. 
Achillea millefolium. 
Bellis perennis. 

Arundo arenaria. 



Iris pseudoacorus. 



Dactvlis glomerata. 
Urtica dioica. 



Nettle, 

And many others, that I could not ascertain, or the 

names of which I forget. 

The 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. SI 

The greatest part of these plants are eaten by 
sheep, particularly the lotus corniculatus, which is 
kept quite close to the ground by them and rabbits, 
and seems to answer the high character given of it 
by Dr. Anderson, and in light soils is particularly" 
well worth the notice of the proprietors, especially 
those possessing ground on the sea-shore, as this 
plant, both from the closeness of its branches, and 
the great length of its strong roots, (some of which 
I have traced ten feet deep into the sand,) prevents 
the wind from shifting the sand. This plant forms 
a very material part of the best fattening herbage 
of light soils, and frequently may be found in dry bog- 
ditches, and also on clay soils; it retains the finest ver- 
dure even in the driest sand, and hottest summers, 
occasioned by the great depth, to which the roots run. 
White clover also forms a very large portion of the 
growth of these hills. A large quantity of bent, such 
as is used for matting, might be annually collected 
here ; it was formerly made use of by the country 
people for thatching, but those, who received the 
permission to cut it, not contented with this, pulled 
it up by the roots, and, by destroying the plants, 
permitted the wind to blow away the sand, that 
was detained by these roots ; since that period they 
have been very properly denied access. This proves, 
amongst numberless instances, that any indulgence 
of this kind, especially to women, is too ofien abused ; 
permit them to glean before your stacks are out 

M of 



82 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

of the field, and they will pull them unless closely 
watched ; the same complaint attaches to the Eng- 
lish peasantry. Cattle and horses eat this plant, 
when better food cannot be had. 

Little attention has been paid to the improvement of 
the pasture of this county, the greater part of it being 
so covered with rocks as to preclude all improve- 
ment, except by making good fences and destroying 
brambles, black thorns, and other useless growths. 
Rich corcass lands, that have never been broken up, 
or at least not for many years past, and are very 
much encumbered with weeds, or those lands, which 
have been so impoverished by repeated corn crops, 
that they produce a very scanty supply of poor 
sustenance for cattle or sheep for many years after, 
when they begin to recover their fertility, usually 
produce, amongst others,, a large proportion of crested 
dog's-tail grass, (cynosurus cristatus,) in Irish thra- 
neens, white clover, (trifolium repens,) and trefoil, 
(medicago lupulina). Laying down with grass-seeds 
has been hitherto practised only by very few gen- 
tlemen, who have uniformly borne testimony to the 
incalculable advantage of the practice. Mr. Wil- 
liam Owen of Inchiquin, near Corrofin, sowed clover 
and hay-seed in ground, which had been completely 
exhausted by this system of over-cropping ; when he 
sowed it, the ground was worth nothing, nor, if left 
to itself, would be for several years. The following 

summer 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 83 

summer he mowed a very abundant crop of choice 
hay, and had several cuttings given green to cattle, 
horses, and pigs ; had the whole field been used in 
this manner, instead of having been cut for hay, 
it would not only have produced at least three times 
as much food, but, what is of infinite consequence, 
a large quantity of manure would have been gained. 
So many instances have occurred in various parts 
of Ireland, under my own eye, of the inestimable 
value of the practice, that I cannot too earnestly 
press it on the attention of landholders, and of 
proprietors: the one would be enabled to give a 
o-ood rent for lands, that are deemed worth little, 
and the other would, with only a little exertion of 
themselves or their agents, double their rent-rolls ; 
it is a certain fact, that an adoption of a better 
system of farming would have this double effect. 

The proportion usually allowed, is of ray-grass, 
if sowed alone, four bushels per acre ; or of ray-grass 
two bushels, and red clover fourteen pounds, per acre. 

Ground of this description, after having been 
used in this manner for two summers, should be 
broken up early in winter, as grass-grounds break 
up best when moist, and drilled potatoes should be 
cultivated. If the clover has been fed in the house, 
(and any other mode is most wasteful, and prac- 
tised only by the most wretched farmers,) and the 
cattle have been well littered, there will be a suf- 

M 2 ficient 



S4 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

fkient quantity for this purpose ; the potatoes to 
be followed by a crop of barley or oats, with which 
clover and hay-seeds should be sowed, and the soiling 
system steadily pursued as before ; by which means, 
not only the land will be brought to a high degree 
of amelioration, but the manure, which under the 
old system of pasturing would be lost, if dropped 
on the land in summer, will remain for the im- 
provement of other worn out ground, or any other 
purpose found necessary. 

In hot dry summers, the grass of the rocky regions 
before mentioned becomes quite brown and withered, 
and stock are put to their shifts ; but, shortly after 
a shower of rain falls, there is an astonishingly rapid 
change to a charming verdure, and the ground pro- 
duces a fine bite, where a few days before they 
were almost perishing. This is to be understood 
chiefly of those parts, where the stratum of rock, 
provincially called flag, lies horizontally ; if it 
assumes a perpendicular position, it does not suffer 
so much, as the fissures between the rocks of this 
description are generally filled with the richest earth, 
frequently many yards deep, which produces not only 
the most luxuriant pasture, but the most vigorous 
growth of trees, particularly ash, and scarcely ever 
loses its colour, except in extreme drought. 

It is the custom of many graziers to take up their 
grounds in June or July, (sometimes in poorer soils 

they 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 85 

they remain untouched from the foregoing autumn,) 
and to permit the grass to remain for feeding store 
cattle or sheep in winter, and frequently for the pur- 
pose of turning in cattle until their fattening ground 
is ready, which in backward springs is of great 
value. In whatever way this kind of grass is con- 
sumed, it is found to be a most beneficial practice, 
in so much, that when this kind of ground, from 
want of stock, and frequently from people taking 
ground they are not able to stock, (which is much 
the practice in this county,) is to be let for the 
winter, very ihigh prices are often paid by those, 
who are overstocked, or whose soils are backward 
in vegetation. 

Sect. 2. Breed of Cattle — how far improved, and 
how far capable of further improvement. 

The breed of this county are almost all long- 
horned, generally well shaped about the head, and 
tolerably fine in the limb, good milkers, and thrifty. 
They were formerly in great estimation with the 
Leinster buyers, who used to attend the fairs in 
spring (especially Innistymon) to purchase maiden 
heifers, until the frequent impositions practised by 
the breeders put a stop to it : it was no uncom- 
mon thing for a grazier to find several of his 
heifers springing, that were engaged to him to be 

maiden ; 



S6 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

maiden ; this avaricious practice at length brought 
its own punishment in the loss of a trade, that, 
honestly pursued, would have enriched them. A 
few of the old Irish breed may be seen in moun- 
tainous situations ; they are usually black or of a 
rusty brown, with black reflected horns, and large 
bellies, good milkers, and very hardy ; but, as im- 
provement takes place in these mountains, the breed 
keeps pace with it, and you will frequently see at 
fairs very neat cattle (I mean cows) the property 
of poor people. A few spirited individuals have 
either imported > or bought from those, who did, 
cattle of the improved Leicester breed. Amongst 
others, Mr. Molony of Kiltannon, Mr. Blood, late 
of Riverston, Sir Edward O'Brien, Mr. Daxon of 
Fountain, and the Rev. Frederick Blood, have pro- 
cured fine bulls, the want of which hitherto has 
prevented a more speedy improvement in the breed 
of cattle ; for, by a judicious selection, many very 
fine heifers, scarcely inferior to any that have been 
imported at enormous prices, may be had at, the 
fairs, which, on being crossed with improved bulls, 
would raise the breed in a few years to a high 
degree of perfection ; but, until this is done, it is in 
vain to look for any superior degree of improvement. 
I do not recollect seeing in this county' a native 
bull likely to get good stock ; they are in general 
heavy-limbed, with large heads, leathery jaws, and 

dipped 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 87 

dipped in the back ; but size, in the opinion of 
many graziers, constitutes perfection. It is a common 
'cant, accompanied with a horse laugh, or an ignorant 
remark on the Farming Society of Ireland, that there 
is no breed equal to Phil. Roche's^ meaning, that, 
as he was an eminent exporter of beef in Limerick, 
that breed, which weighed most (and bone weighed 
better than flesh) in his scales, must be the best, 
without ever once considering the greater quantity 
of food it took to fatten this coarse-limbed and 
large-headed animal. For it has been uniformly 
found, that those beasts, who are fine in their shape, 
are most easily fattened, and those, for which premi- 
ums have been received at the shews of the Farming 
Society of Ireland, have been invariably perfect in 
their shape ; amongst many others, the beautiful ox, 
for which Mr. Going received a prize at this shew; 
he was bred by Mr. Molony of Kiltannon, in this 
county, from cattle of a very superior breed, which 
he imported from Warwickshire, and was sold in a 
lot to Mr. Hastings near Killaloe, and by him to 
Mr. Going. 

The custom of selling maiden heifers for slaugh- 
tering, at the different fairs, especially Ballinasloe, 
has tended very materially to retard improvement ; 
for this purpose they are selected for the beauty of 
their shape and size at various fairs, and, after 
receiving a year's feeding, are usually sent to Bal- 
linasloe 



8$ STATISTICAL SURVEY 

linasloe fair in May ; had the same pains been taken 
to select them for breeding, and the ordinary ones 
killed, there would be a rapid improvement. It 
has been asserted, I know not with what truth, that 
the late Mr. Bake well used to meet these heifers 
on the road in England, and purchase those of the 
finest shapes, and, after giving them his fine bulls, 
send their progeny over to us at very high prices. 
Nothing would contribute more to improve the 
breed of cattle, than landlords procuring good males 
of every kind for the use of their tenants, and giving 
them out at a trifling rate ; for, paying for their 
use would make them anxious, and careful of their 
produce, and to those, who were too poor to pay, 
they should be gratuitous. One pig of a litter for 
the use of the boar is a good method ; but they 
must beware of a trick, often practised, of bringing 
a young pig of the common breed of the county, 
instead of the improved kind. There is no sort 
of stock, that wants improvement more than swine ; 
the general breed of this county is most wretched, 
and, as it is the poor man's stock, and on the sale 
of which the payment of his rent frequently depends, 
it behoves every landed proprietor, for his own sake, 
to contribute to their improvement. The number of 
absentees in this county is very great, and surely, in- 
dependent of their own future encrease of rent, this 
is the least they can do for the immense sums they 

draw 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 83 

draw from it to spend in other countries. This 
improvement might be effected, by agents to ab- 
sentees being obliged to reside in the midst of the 
tenantry, and not, as is too common, in London 
or Dublin, never making their appearance, but 
when they fly down to receive the rents, and as 
quickly away again, totally ignorant of the destruc- 
tion, that is usually accruing to land by too frequently 
burning it, to houses and fences from neglect, and 
to bog by improper cutting, &c. &c. There are 
some agents, who, so as they get the cash to enable 
them to make usurious discounts, care little what 
becomes of either Jand or tenantry ; an agent, not 
living on the estate, appears to me a monstrous 
solecism in the management of it, and it is equally so 
to appoint one totally ignorant of the value of land. 
Sheep have been greatly improved in their shape 
by the introduction of Leicestershire rams, but ma- 
terially injured in the quality of their wool ; this 
was formerly short and fine, adapted to the soil 
and manufactures of that part of the county, espe- 
cially that produced in Burrin, and bore a high 
price at Ballinasloe fair in July; since that period 
it has become much coarser, and the old women 
regret the introduction of the Dexters, (as they call 
them) which, they say, spoiled their wool. The 
mutton of those high-bred sheep is by universal 
consent esteemed vastly inferior to that of the 

N native 



90 STATISTICAL SURVEY i 

native breed, procured in the remote parts of the 
county.* 

It seems to be an opinion of most graziers, even 
the most prejudiced old-light men, that one cross 
with Leicester rams does not materially injure the 
mutton, but they will not allow it to go further. 
Mr. Blood, of Riverston, who possesses large tracts 
of rocky soil in Burrin, has with great judgment 
introduced the breed of South Down sheep, selected 
from the choice flocks of the Marquis of Sligo and 
Mr. Wynne of Hazlewood, convinced, that not only 
from their being amongst the finest-woolled sheep 
in England, but also from their approximation in 
propensities and in appearance to the ancient breed 
of the country, they are to be preferred for this 
kind of soil. 

I have often with great pleasure viewed his lambs,, 
produced by the first cross of South Down with 
selected native ewes ; the improvement was asto- 
nishing; and there can be little doubt, that their 
produce will be covered with wool nearly as fine 
as the South Down ; I have a sample of this wool, 
that is nearly equal to any South Down. The first 
cross gives the lamb half the ramY blood — the 2d 
gives 75 per cent. — the 3d gives 87^ per cent. — the 

4th 

* The great propensity to fat, often objected to in this new breed, 
ft one of the greatest encomiums . it could receive j how very easy to 
encrease the number on an acre, and bring them down to the uaost 
Squeamish appetite i 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 9l 

4th gives 93J per cent. ; after that, if care has been 
taken in the selection, no difference will be per- 
ceived. In a sheep-rearing country such as Burrin, 
possessing a short bite, and requiring activity to 
gather it, there can be little doubt of the inesti- 
mable value of the South Down breed of sheep, 
and that the breeders have sustained a heavy loss 
by the deterioration of their wool.* 

At the fair of Ballinasloe in July, 1806, the best 
combing wool sold for 1 9s. 6d. per stone of sixteen 
pounds, whilst the South Down wool of the Rev. 
Mr. Symes of Ballyarthur, in the county of Wicklow, 
sold for 2l. 12s. , and by auction, where there was 
every fair competition amongst the buyers. The 
average weight of the .combing wool is about 5lbs, 
the fleece, an4 of the South Down about 3lbs., so 
that the native fleece sold for about 6s. 6d. whilst 
the South Down produced 9s. 9d. At the auction 
of fine wool at Mr. Berry's in North Anne-street, 
Dublin, in September 1805, the following prices 
were pbtained by the following breeders. 

per lb. 

s. d. 
Marquis of Sligo, No. 1. Sjputh Down, -25 
Do. No. 2. | South Down ram, 

and i Cunnamara ewe, 2 I 
N 2 Marquis 

* Since the $bove was written, Mr. Blood has set his farms an«$ 
sWd all this kind o( sheep, which must be considered -t serious loss 

to 



92 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

per lb. 

s. d. 

Marquis of Sligo, No. 3. Same breed, - 2 6£ 

George Grierson, Esq. South Down, 2 4 

Rev. Mr. Symes, - 3 3 

Earl of Farnham, Spanish and Ryland, 3 8 

Sales of clothing wool, in 1806, at ike same place, 

Rt. Hon. Owen Wynne, South Down, 2 9| 

Do. - Do. - 2 6 

Rev. James Symes, Do. - 2 3 

James Woodmason, Esq. Do. 2 

Rt. Hon. Owen Wynne, Coarse South Down, 2 3 

Marquis of Sligo, South Down, 2 1 

Francis Trench, Esq. Do. - 2 2* 

Nath. Trumbull, Esq. Ryland, - 2 

Marquis of Sligo, Best South Down, 3 2 

Rt. Hon. Owen Wynne, 2 fleeces Ryland, 8lb. 4 1 

Earl of Farnham, Spanish and Ryland, 3 9£ 

Rev. James Symes, South Down, 4 

George Grierson, Esq. Do. - 3 4 

Thomas Trench, Esq. Spanish and Ryland, 2 9\ 

Francis Trench, Esq. South Down, 2 7 

Colonel Brown, Do. - 3 7 

John Trench, Esq. Do. - 2 6', 

Amount of sales, 442/. 2^. 8d. 

Rev. 

to that part of the county. A piece of superfine broad-clotb, ma- 
jiufactured from the wool of these sheep, has obtained one of the pre- 
miums given lately (March 1808) by the Farming Society of Ireland, 
▼et the breeders permitted this valuable breed to .leave their count-,. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 93 

Sales of clothing wool, in 1807, at the same place. 

per lb. 

s. d. 
Rev. James Symes, South Down 9i fleeces, 

{\Zs, 3d. each,) 5 4 

Do. - Wicklow and S. Down, 2 O 

Marquis of Sligo, South Down, 289 fleeces 4 O 

Do. - Do. - - 2 5 

Rt.Hon.Owen Wynne, Do. 34 fleeces, 2 2 

Do. - - Cast Do. - 2 5 

Do. - - Do. 3 rams fleeces,* 3 C 

Do. - Do. 166 fleeces, 3 9 

Bindon Blood, Esq. Do. - - 3 7 

Rev. Thomas Trench, Do. - - 2 3 

Lord Clermont, Do. - - 4 

Do. - - Half-bred, 34 fleeces, 2 2 

George Grierson, Esq. South Down, 2 1 

Do. - - Do. 1 1 1 fleeces, 3 10 
Amount of sales, 560/. lis, 8^. 

In point of hardiness the South Down sheep are 
equal to any breed, and the mutton of them produced 
at the Farming Society House in Ballinasloe, in Octo- 
ber 1805, was of the most exquisite flavour, though 

only 

* The three rams' fleeces sold for 2/. 10s. 9d. or 16s. lid. each, 
and weighed 14£ lbs. It will be seen, that these prices have not been 
obtained for a few picked fleeces, (as prejudiced graziers have more 
than once asserted,) but for whole flocks. Lord Clermont's receiving 
8s. 7d. per fleece of half bred sheep is well worth the attention of 
breeders, as indeed is the whole li?t. 



*4 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

only two years old ; they were bred by Mr. Grierson, 
who deserves great credit for his spirit and perseve- 
rance in this and every thing beneficial to his country. 

The swine of this county possess every de- 
fect of form ; they are remarkably narrow across 
the back, thick-legged, and have monstrous heavy 
ears, nor are they so easily fed as the Leicestershire 
breed introduced by some gentlemen lately. Mr. 
Blood of Riverston received a medal, at Ballin- 
asloe shew in 1804, for the best pig of any age, 
and greatly improved the breed of the neighbouring 
gentlemen and farmers, and even those of the 
cottiers, by hiring his boar, for which he received 
a pig of the litter at six weeks old ; in my rides 
round his seat I could easily distinguish the im- 
provement in the shape. The Rev. Frederick Blood 
has an improved breed of this animal ; Mr. Daxon 
of Fountain from Lord Cunningham's breed ; and 
Mr. Burton of Clifden from 3VJr. Blood's breed. 
Many farmers contend, that swine roaming at large 
thrive better than when confined ; this proceeds not 
©nly from the filthy state, in which they keep them, 
but from irregularity in the feeding. 

The breed of horses has dwindled very much, 
and, until that of strong active hunters is again 
introduced, little improvement can be expected. 
The introduction of Suffolk punch stallions would 
be of infinite use to the breeders of draft cattle, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 95 

as they combine great strength wrth activity, and 
would help to banish out of the country that vile 
breed of heavy-limbed black horses, that have so 
long usurped the place of a more generally useful 
kind. There are a vast number of mules bred in 
this county, but with little or no selection ; conse- 
quently you seldom see one of good size. Mr. 
Crow of Ennis has procured a very fine ass of the 
Spanish blood, which has greatly improved the size 
and shape, and, were any but the very worst sort of 
mares devoted to this purpose, a very valuable 
breed would be introduced. Asses are very com- 
monly used, especially by poor people, and are 
highly useful, when the weight to be carried is 
moderate, but yet too much for a man. An ass 
and a small cart, or two baskets, as generally used 
in this county, will be found very serviceable for 
bringing clover or other soil to the stables and 
cattle-sheds in summer, because the frequent jour- 
neys, they are obliged to make, prevent that waste, 
which is generally made by bringing in a large quan- 
tity at once to save a lazy herd trouble. I never 
have gone into a house, where the soiling system 
has been attempted, but my nose could detect this 
abuse from the hot smell occasioned by the fer- 
menting herbage, and the owner has often com- 
plained to me, that his cattle did not thrive oa 
soiling, without knowing the cause ; this it is, 

much 



96 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

much more frequently than from too small St 
quantity. 

Mutton, whose fat is yellow, frequently occurs 
in this county, but is not peculiar to it, as I have 
observed it in every part of Ireland, and often in 
Dublin markets, where some squeamish people ob- 
ject to it ; but, if fat, it is equally good as any mut- 
ton, perhaps better. The cause of this colour has 
not perhaps been satisfactorily ascertained ; it cannot 
be the food, as has been often said, for the fat 
of all the sheep on the same pasture would receive 
the same tinge ; if it is from disorder, as has been 
contended, it must be one, that is not hurtful, as 
they fatten well, and on opening them no sign 
of disorder appears, as in the rot ; a butcher in 
Ennis informed me it was certainly in the breed. 
In Guernsey, I am informed, the fat of both caitle 
and sheep is of a yellow colour, and remarkably 
well flavoured. 

Markets or Fairs for them. 

The principal markets for fat cattle are Cork* 
and Limerick ; a few years back, an attempt was 

made 

* In the second part of Mr. Young's Tour in Ireland, he states the 
average value of the exports of pasturage, consisting of beef, butter, 
candles, hides, tallow, livestock, and cheese, ending in 1777, to be 
annually, 1,218,902/.; this must be considered as the exports of Ire- 
land at large. Since that thf>re has been a great, encrease, for in 

the 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 97 

made to establish one at Clare, connected with a 
commercial house at Liverpool, but from some un- 
fortunate circumstance it failed ; if successful, it 
would have benefited the country very much. As 
the demand at these markets depends almost en- 
tirely on the continuance of war, it becomes fre- 
quently very precarious, and fluctuating in its effects 
between riches and ruin. If contracts are made 
by commercial houses in England, agents attend 
the fairs in November and December, and gene- 
rally give good prices ; if a peace is expected, or, as 
has been the case in 1806, the merchants are com- 
bined, the graziers are completely at their mercy, 
and suffer not only every kind of gross indignity 
of treatment from these great men, but suffer serious 
losses from the cheating of every person concerned 
in slaughtering these cattle. As it is scarcely known 
in other parts of the kingdom, it may be at least 
amusing to detail the business a little. The grazier 
finding no agent attending the fairs to buy, (ex- 
cept some trusty friend of the merchants, who reads 
a letter from Cork or Limerick, stating the rumours 
of a peace, or the expected very low price, is 

o obliged 

the city of Cork alone there were slaughtered in 1806 fifty thousand 
oxen and cows, which, valued at only 15/. each, make, for them 
alone, 750,000/. — He also states the value of pigs, at the same 
period, to be 150,631/. whilst Cork alone in 1806 exported one 
hundred and fifty thousand pigs j and as few are exported but those 
of large size, the value may be estimated to be at least 300,000/. 



9S STATISTICAL SURVEY 

obliged to drive his cattle to either of these markets-; 
after driving them into either of these towns he 
waits upon the great man, and with all humility 
begs to know, if he wants any fat cattle ; after a 
good deal of pretended hurry of business, and wait- 
ing for a repetition of the question, f* he believes * 
he shall not want any thing more than what he has 
already engaged, but to oblige Mr. • he will 

endeavour to make room for them ; as to the price, 
it is to be regulated by what any other grazier 
receives." When this is settled, he must drive his 
beasts to a slaugbter-house, many of which are, 
erected for this purpose; he pays for this a high 
price, and must give also the heads and offal ; h& 
must sit up all night, superintending the slaugh- 
tering, and must silently observe every species of 
fraud committed by the very woftt kind of butchers ; 
for, as has frequently happened, if resentful language 
is used to those scoundrels, they begin to whet their 
knives, and put themselves in an assassinating atti- 
tude ; this in a slaughter-house at night, and amongst 
the horrid scene of carnage around him, requires 
po small share o£ nerves. Next morning, without 
taking any rest, he must bring his meat to the 
cutters-up ; here, unless they are fee'd, begins the 
second part of the fraud he has to suffer ; first they 
take for their perquisite several pounds of his best 
beef, and, if he has cows, unless they are well 

paid 5 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 99 

paid, will cut away large quantities of the udder, 
which they call offal, and which is the property of 
the merchant,, though he pays nothing for it. The 
merchant also gets the tongue, and, if the grazier 
wants a few, must beg them at the rate of at 
least three shillings each. The third scene begins at 
the scales; here another perquisite must be paid, and 
much good meat is refused, because truly it should 
be a few pounds less than the stipulated weight 
per beast ; a« appeal then is made to the great man ; 
^ he is gene out," " he won't be home to-night," 
<( he is so busy he can't be seen ;" at length per- 
haps he is visible, and, when matters are explained, 
" Really Sir I do not wish to take your cattle ; the 
prices I receive in England are so low, I shall 
lose by my contract ; suppose you would try if you 
cao do better elsewhere, but I will agree to take 
your beef, though below the weight, if you make 
the terms lower." The grazier has now no redress, 
and must agree to any terms : the business does 
not end here; then he enquires what mode of pay- 
ment ; bills at ninety-one days are the best terms 
he can get. lie then applies to a chandler to 
buy his fat ; when this is settled, the tanner must 
be waited on, and here, as well as with the chandler, 
bills at a long date are the only payment he can 
receive, and, as they are generally men of small or 
$o capital, if their speculations should not succeed, 

i., r 'V P 2 their 

1 Lor C. 



iOO STATISTICAL SURVEY 

their bills are worth little. This is but a small part 
of the gross indignities the grazier has to suffer ; he 
has to transact a business totally foreign to his habits of 
life, consequently unable to cope with those, who from 
their infancy are used to the tricks practised in this 
business, and therefore able to avoid them or turn 
them perhaps to their own benefit. The price de- 
pends not only on the causes before mentioned, 
but on the size of the beast, those of a large size 
bringing more per cwt. than those of a smaller 
one, which is a premium on large bone, and cows 
are alwajs lower in price than oxen, though they 
are sent to England in the same packages, and, 
if fat, go as the best beef called planters mess. 

During the negotiations for peace with France in 
the autumn of 1806, the expectation, not the hope, 
of a favourable issue prevented speculations, and de- 
termined both buyers and sellers to suspend them 
until the fair of Ballinasloe in October, or the result 
of Lord Lauderdale's negociation should transpire. 

The next fair of any note is Clonroad near Ennis, 
on the 13th of October; at this fair the sales for 
fat cattle generally begin, and they end at Six- 
mile-bridge, on the fifth of December ; any, that 
remain unsold after that period, are sent to Cork 
or Limerick. 

There is a curious circumstance attending the 
laying in of store cattle in May, the price given 

then 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 101 

then depending entirely on the sales for fat cattle 
the preceding winter ; it is not easy to account for 
this on any other principle, than that a good price 
for the fat cattle puts a man in cash, and of course 
in good spirits, which opens the heart, but sometimes 
also blinds the judgment ; for, what have the sales 
or prices of a consumed commodity to do with that, 
which is to be consumed in twelve months after? 
The price almost entirely depending on the buyers, 
and on fortuitous circumstances, there can be no pos- 
sible clue to guide a man. The long faces at the 
fair of Ballinasloe in October on the news of a peace 
plainly proved, that the prices of a former had no 
effect on those of this year. The graziers may justly 
accuse me of great presumption j but it is the 
duty of every person engaged in the survey of a 
county to state what appears to be the customs 
of it, and to venture an opinion on their good or 
bad tendency ; if it has no other effect, it may 
make them think on subjects, which it is highly 
probable they have handed down to them from their 
great grandfather, without adverting to a change 
of sentiment, that has taken place in England, and 
which appears to have a just foundation. As an 
instance of the force of habit on men ignorant of 
what is doing elsewhere, I have not met a single 
grazier in the county, that did not laugh at the 
i<iea of fattening cattle on soiling in summer; 

find 



102 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

and they will no doubt be astonished to hear, that 
one grazier in England, Mr. Mure, fed 240 oxen 
in sheds through a whole summer, by the mowing 
of one scythe, and all sold off very fat ; and, though 
they may think me visionary, I am perfectly con- 
vinced, that, if the corcasses were managed in this 
manner, they would fatten twice the number of 
cattle, and make manure for poorer ground. It is 
a curious circumstance, that both graziers and the 
buyers of fat cattle at Cork and Limerick agree for 
the price without once handling them, all is done 
by the eye. I have known a cross-made high-boned 
ox to be rejected in a lot by an agent for a house in 
Limerick, that, on being killed, turned out much 
better than a more even-shaped one. It appears 
curious to see a man buy fat cattle in a field 
without alighting rYom his horse to handle them ; 
if handling is unnecessary, the poor beasts at the 
Farming Society shews would be saved a great deal 
of needless torture, of that knuckling and pinching, 
that some amateurs are so fond of. Mr. Young's 
opinion on this subject deserves attention ; he says, 
u When you see graziers go into a fair, and run off 
** lots of lean cattle, to buy by the eye only, they 
" are groping in the dark without more intelligence 
U or sagacity, than one of the beasts could use 
" in choosing out of a lot of men one to be his 
" roaster." 

Fairs 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 103 

Fairs held in towns are a great nuisance, and towns 
are surely most inconvenient places to both buyer 
and seller, for the cattle are packed so close together, 
that it is not easy to form a judgment of their 
quality, and great difficulties are experienced to 
keep each person's cattle separate. Great abuses 
are permitted by the owners of cattle ; it is a fre- 
quent practice to break their horns by unnecessary 
blpws, especially at Ballinasloe, after they are sold ; 
severe blows on the legs are viewed with perfect 
indifference by the graziers. 

Great losses are sustained by having fairs in harvest ; 
almost every person for many miles around Ennis 
and Killaloe deserted their reaping, which almost 
universally began the day before, to idle away 
their time at these fairs, which were held on the 
third of September ; I saw very great quantities 
of oats lying on the ledge, and, as the following 
day was very wet and cold, and Sunday followed, 
they must have sustained very considerable losses ; 
besides, the money spent on whiskey, and the con- 
sequent debility, of both body and mind, must have 
been a serious addition* 



115T 



104 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



LIST OF FAIRS. 



Brodagh by Crusheen, 

Miltown-Malbay, 

Donass, 

Jeverstown, 

Holy island, 

Newmarket, 

Killaloe, 

Ennis, 

Dunbeg, 

Six-mile-bridgc, 

Callagban's mills, 

Clonroad, 

Kilrush, 

Rossmanaher, 

Ardsallas, 

Tuliagh, 

Innistymon, 

Kilmurry Ibricken, 

Corrofin, 

Killanteel, 

Jasper's pound, 

Kilkishen, - . 

Kilmichae], 

Brodagh by Crusheen, 



17th January. 

1st February. 
17th March. 
28 th March. 

8th April. 

11th April. 

12th April. 

16th April* 

2d May. 

6th May. 

9th May. 

9th May. 
I Oth May. 
10th May. 
1 2th May. 
13 th May. 
16th May. 

17 th May. 
18th May. 

18 th May. 
19th May. 
19th May. 

19 th May. 
20th May. 

Kildysart, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 10$ 



Kildysart, 

Kilmurry M'Mahon, 

Kilfenora, 

Ballyket, 

Holy island, 

Kilclaran, 

Killaloe, 

Bunratty, 

Turlamore — and rates, 

Tomgraney, 

Bridgetown, 

Donass, two days, 

Killenenagh, 

Rossmanaher, 

Dromore, 

Miltown-Malbay, 

Broadford, 

Spansel-hill, two days, 

Ballyludan, west, 

CallagbanV mills, 

Ballyket, 

Cratilovv, 

St. John's well, 

Kilmlchael, 

O'BrienVbridge, 

Dunbeg, 

Clonroad, 

Enagb, 



23d May. 
24th May, 
25th May. 
26th May. 
30th May. 
3 1st May. ■"_ 
31st May. 

3d June. 

8th June. 

9th June. 
10th June. 
11th June. 
11th June. 
15th June. 
17th June. 
20th June. 
21st June. 
23d June. 
24th June. 
27th June. 

4th July. 

5th July. 

5th July. 
18th July. 
25th July. 
26th July. 

1st August. 

1st August. 
Ardsallas^ 



206 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



Ardsallas, 

Brodagh-by-Crusheen, 

Ballyket, 

Spansel-hill, 

Innistymon, 

Kilmurry Ibricken, 

Kildysart, 

Newmarket, 

Kilkishen, 

Ennis, 

Killafoe, 

Tullagh, 

Donass, 

Dromore, 

Kilmiehael, 

Turloghmore^ 
Tullagh 

Jeverstown^ 

Dunbeg, 

Kiilenora, 

Torngranev, 

Kilrush, 

Clonroad, two days, 

Rossjaianaher, 

jNliltown-Maibay, 

Killaloe, 

Quin, 

Q'Brien's-bridge, 



12th August. 
15th August. 
17th August. 
20th August. 
22d August. 
25th August. 
27th August. 
27th August. 
31st August. 

3d September. 

3d September. 

5th September. 
21st September. 
26th September. 
28th September. 
29th September. 

1st October. 

3d October. 

/ 

8th October. 
10th October. 
J 0th October. 
12th October. 
13th October. 
17th October. 
18th October. 
20th October. 

1st November. 

7th November. 
CallaghanVmills, 



OF THE COUNTY OF 

Callaghan's-mills, 

Brodagh-by-Crusheen, 

Broadford, 

Corrofin, 

Ballyludan, west, 

Bridgetown, 

Jasper's pound, 

Donass, 

Ballyket, 

Kilclaran, - - ( 

Clonroad, <■ 

Six-mile-bridge, 

Turloghmore, 

Dunbeg, 

Enagh, 

Newmarket, - * 

Kilkishen, 



CLARE. 107 

14ih November. 
19th November, 
21st November. 
22d November. 
24th November. 
25th November. 
2$th November. 
30th November. 

1st December. 

2d December. 

3d December. 

5th December* 
12th December. 
16th December. 
17th December. 
20th December. 
22d December. 



Sect. 3. General Prices. 



It is no easy matter to ascertain the prices paid 
for cattle of different ages, as they varied at different 
fairs according to the demand, and also to the 
quality of some being very superior to others; for 
instance, those from Limerick always bringing a 
higher price than most other yearlings. Store 
cattle of every kind were much lower in 1807 
than they had been for many years before, inso- 
p 2 much, 



108 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

much, that dry cows could scarcely be sold for 
any price, however low, and greatly distressed the 
lower kind of farmers and cottiers, who wanted 
to exchange them for those in milk, or to make 
up their rent. 

The prices given for fat cattle by the contrac- 
tors of Cork and Limerick last year (1806) were 
unprecedented}}- low ; many graziers were obliged 
to sell their fat cattle for little more, sometimes 
less, than they paid for them as stores the pre- 
ceding May. This cannot be imputed to low prices 
given by Government, but to a combination amongst 
the contractors, who the year before opposed each 
other, and helped to keep up the market, and by 
which I understand they were considerable losers ; 
but last season and this there has been no oppo- 
sition, except an hasty ill-judged plan amongst 
the Leinster graziers, that has been productive of 
nothing but disappointment. Were I to prescribe 
a remedy for this extreme fluctuation in the price 
of fat cattle, it would be the cultivation of large 
quantities of green winter food, that would enable 
them to keep over their cattle ; for, the English 
contractors can no more do without Irish beef, 
than we can do without their money ; and if the 
fat cattle are sold before they consume this green 
food, it will be of infinite use for store cattle, 
instead of straw, and will enable the grazier to 

finish 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 109 

iinish his cattle better, earlier, and in greater num- 
ber than he ever did, and litter to make manure 
will be made of' that straw, which formerly only 
kept his cattle barely alive. 

On striking a balance of accounts for many years 
past, the graziers, I presume, have no great reason 
to complain of one or two bad seasons. 

The sale of fat sheep is very limited; what the 
home market does not consume^, is sent to Balli- 
nasloe fair in October, and from thence to be finished 
in Leinster for Dublin and other markets. 

Horses are rather improving within the last year, 
owing to an encouraging advance in the price: 
they sold at Spansel-hill in 1S07 ; horses for draught, 
at three years old, for from 8/. to 25/. ; those for 
the saddle, three years old, from 14/. to 60/. That 
fine breed of horses, for which this county was for- 
merly famous, is now very rare. 

Two or three fairs and a weekly market at Car- 
rigaholt would be highly advantageous to the remote 
parishes of Kilballyhone, Killard, Moyferta, &c. as 
the land and stock are in a state of great im- 
provement, and population is receiving a great 
encrease.* 

In the western part of this county cattle were 

a few years ago uncommonly low-priced ; milch cows 

; frequently 

* £ince* the above was written, fairs have been established. 



J 10 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

frequently for from 2l. 10s. to 4/. and other stock 
still lower; but in the year 1800, milch cows of 
the same quality were sold for from 4/. lis. to 
1 ll. 7s. 6d. ; and dry cows, which at a former period 
were sold for from ll. to 4?l. } in 1800 rose to four 
and seven guineas, and every kind of young stock 
in proportion; this has been imputed not only to 
a rise in the times, but to an improvement in the 
stock. 

At the fair of Innistymon, in July 1807, cattle 
were so low, that tolerable dry cows sold for 3l., 
and middling two-year old heifers for 3/. 8o. 3d., 
but sheep sold well. 

In September 1807, I met a lot of fat old-light 
hogget sheep going to a butcher in Limerick; he 
paid 30s. a piece for them, but they were small, 
though very fat ; it seems then, that old-light sheep 
will fatten at an early period. 

Sect, 4. Modes of feeding, and how far housed 
in winter. 

The usual mode of feeding on natural grasses 
has been before detailed ; feeding cattle in winter 
in the house, except by very few gentlemen, and 
cottiers or small farmers, is little practised ; these last 
usually keep their cattle in the house only at 
night, and too frequently turn them in the day 
into a wet field, where they can scarcely find any 

thing 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. Ill 

thing eatable; they poach the ground full of holes, 
which retain the wet all the winter and spring, 
and, if intended to be cropped, retard the season 
for ploughing and sowing, and may justly be es- 
teemed one of the principal causes of bad crops ; 
if the ground is covered with grass, the injury by 
this bad practice is very great, as, if pasture, it 
retards the growth of the earliest and best grasses; 
if it is intended for meadow, it is usually eaten 
until far in May, often later ; of course, the crop 
of hay is not only scanty, but, ripening at a late 
season, it is commonly caught by wet weather or 
heavy dews; besides, this late cutting prevents 
the growth of after-grass, that would, if produced 
after early meadow, sustain their cattle as long 
in autumn and winter as the weather continued 
dry. 

Stall-feeding, I believe, is little practised ; there 
is no market, that would take any quantity, except 
Limerick or Ennis; the latter market is not worth 
notice for this kind of stock, as a few would glut 
the market. 

In the western parts of the county near the 
Atlantic, called the far west, the cattle are usually 
housed for five or six months, as the pastures, 
except in very good shelter, are quite bare, and 
storms of wind and rain very frequent. 

Housing sheep in winter is not known in the 

county ; 



112 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

county; the land shelter and perpetual verdure, it 
h said by graziers, renders the practice unneces- 
sary, especially in those large tracts of limestone 
soil, that are chiefly occupied by them ; snow seldom 
lies on them for any length of time, except this 
year, 1807, when great losses were sustained by 
the suddenness and depth of it, drifted by the wind ; 
some sheep remained for near a month under it, 
and were saved ; many were also lost by the care- 
lessness of shepherds, and what better can beexpecteci, 
where some farms are fifty miles from the proprietor, 
who perhaps never sees his stock from the time 
he sends them there in May, until he meets them 
at Ballinasloe, in October? This probably may an- 
swer in grazing, but I am convinced no other spe- 
culation could bear such neglect. 

Some good graziers make sheep-cocks of hay, 
but it is by no means general, and in Burrin quite 
unknown. Bad wintering is the cause of a defect 
in the wool, called by the manufacturer the second 
growth; it is a decay in the middle, of the hair, 
and it breaks off here in the working ; if the sheep 
are well fed in summer and spring, but neglected 
in winter, this defect takes place. 

A few gentlemen, and the better kind of farmers, 
keep their swine confined in winter, but the cot- 
tiers usually permit them to roam about in the day, 
but always provide a place for them to retire to 

at 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 113 

at night ; this is usually done by excavating a hole 
in the face of a bank opposite to the south, and 
covering it with a few small sticks, and thatched 
with potatoe-stalks, scraws, tough sods, or any 
other convenient material ; but too often they are 
permitted to take up their abode with the cow 
at one end of the cabbin ; this is however much 
less frequent than it was formerly, and if resident 
gentlemen or the agents of absentees could be 
brought to think, that they have other duties to 
perform besides receiving rents, a very happy change 
doubtless would take place in this as well as in 
other bad practices, which it is more the fashion 
to talk about after dinner, than to endeavour to 
reform. Multitudes of swine of all ages are fed 
on the corcasses along the Shannon and Fergus, 
and are always in high condition. 

Mr. Singleton, if I am well informed, who possesses 
large tracts of rich corcass ground, (upwards of 
1000 acres,) buys store oxen of the largest size 
in May, feeds with hay in winter, and after a 
second summer's grass sells them fat in Limerick, 
and this on ground, for which he could get seven 
guineas an acre for meadow. I confess I am quite 
at a loss here ; to pay fifteen guineas for an ox 
at Six-mile-bridge, feed him two summers and one 
winter on ground worth seven guineas an acre, and 
sell him for a profit of perhaps five pounds ! It 

q baffles 



114 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

baffles all calculation ; it must however be recol- 
lected, that Mr. Singleton pays only 9s. 6d. per 
acre for the greater part of this ground, but surely 
no beast would pay fourteen guineas profit, besides, 
what I believe is never once thought of by graziers, 
interest for two years. Mr. Singleton has always 
had the finest cattle, that were killed in Limerick; 
many will sacrifice a great deal to support their 
reputation for being at the top of the market; 
but even supposing, what may be the case, that 
the cattle are laid in at the October fairs, and fed 
ope winter and one summer, yet this would be 
at an expence of I ll. l&s. 10?d., supposing an acre 
in summer and half an acre for hay ; had Mr. 
Singleton been more communicative, I might have 
been able to clear up this point. 

The horses of the poorer classes are as badly 
kept as their cattle, of course unable to perform 
good work in spring : those belonging to gentlemen 
and substantial graziers are fed like those of the 
rest of Ireland ; some are fed well, and others get 
but a scanty share of oats : it is no uncommon 
thing to find the stables of men of large fortune 
quite destitute of oats, and perhaps of hay, in 
the middle or end of summer ; and, whilst their 
guests are enjoying every hospitality in the parlour, 
their horses are neglected in the stable, and I would 
advise no person .to travel with a valuable horse 

without 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 115 

without a sharp-sighted servant, thai will not be 
bashful i to the above I am happy to state there 
are many exceptions, as I have often experienced. 

Sect. 5. Natural Grasses. 

The indigenous grasses are such as are usually 
produced in soils of the same nature in every part 
of Ireland, except the alopecurus pratensis or mea- 
dow fox-tail, which I could not find 'in any part 
of the county ; the different sorts of phleum are 
often taken for it, but the spike of this is smooth, 
whilst the other is bearded like barley, and their 
time of flowering marks their difference ; the alo- 
pecurus flowers very early, the other very late. 
Jn the dry calcareous soils of the most fattening 
quality the following grasses predominate. 

White clover, - Trifolium repens. 

Yarrow, - - Achillea millefolium. 

Trefoil, r - Medicago lupulina. 

Bird's-foot trefoil, Lotus corniculatus^ 

Crested dog's-tail-gfass, Cynosurus cristatus. 

Ladies' bed-straw, Galium verum. 

Perennial red clover, &c. &c. &c. 
In soils, that approach more towards clay, plants 
appropriate to them are usually found. It will not, 
I presume, be expected I should make a tedious 
display of every weed in the county, but I shall 
mention, in the Appendix, the more rare plants 
found by Dr. Wade and Mr. Mackay. 

q 2 Such 



116 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Such is the proneness of our favoured soil and cli- 
mate to produce the best grasses, that, even after the 
most deteriorating system of cropping, a few years 
rest enables our fruitful soil to furnish a supply of 
the plants above stated ; this, amongst others, is the 
reason, that grass-seeds are seldom sowed, and 
is a matter of astonishment to the farmers of Ens:- 
land, where such a system could not be pursued, 
the ground there producing but little natural grasses ; 
indeed here it is rather a misfortune than a bles- 
sing, because in some measure it encourages the 
farmer to pursue, so bad a system, which is a serious 
loss to the community, as is the practice through- 
out Ireland. This shall be further investigated 
hereafter, and deserves the most marked attention 
of the landholders. 

The best season for sowing grass-seeds has long 
been a cause of much controversy amongst agri- 
cultural writers ; some have recommended them to 
be sowed in spring with a crop of corn, others 
by themselves at the same season ; many are ad- 
vocates for autumnal sowing without any corn crop, 
where the ground is clean ; many contend for an 
additional crop of spring corn, and that the corn 
should be sown much thinner than if alone, other- 
wise much of the grass will be destroyed. If the 
ground is dirty, I would recommend sowing in 
July or August, with a very thin crop of oats, 

to 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 117 

to be mowed green for soiling, and cut close to the 
ground, by which means there would be an oppor- 
tunity of destroying weeds, which would not be 
able to shoot again before winter ; the oats would 
shelter the young grass from the sun, whilst their 
assistance was necessary, and by the time they were 
Jong enough to cut for soiling the weeds would 
have attained to some growth, and would be cut 
down along with them, and the frosts of the ensuing 
winter would complete their destruction ; even if 
the weeds were not cut, they would not have time 
to perfect their seeds before winter ; in the fol- 
lowing spring, the grass, if sowed thick enough, 
would get the start of annual weeds and overpower 
them. Sowing in autumn without a crop of corn, 
though it may have succeeded in very clean rich 
ground, and favourable seasons, is perhaps very 
inferior to sowing with a very thin crop of oats 
or barley ; from want of attending to this, and al- 
ways permitting the corn to ripen, has, I am con- 
vinced, originated the preference. Many Experi- 
enced agriculturists have latelv adopted the practice 
of sowing a thin crop of rape in July with their 
grass-seeds, to be eaten off frequently by sheep 
during the winter and spring; the treading of the 
sheep and their manure are highly beneficial to 
light soils, or reclaimed bog or mountain. I was 
formerlj' an advocate for sowing grass-seeds in spring 

onlj, 



118 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

•nly, but I have had such frequent opportunities 
«f seeing the superiority of those sowed in summer, 
that I warmly recommend the practice. 

Amongst the natural grasses of the county, those 
produced in the corcass lands along the Shannon 
and Fergus are greatly superior in luxuriance ; it 
is reckoned nothing extraordinary to mow six tons of 
bay per acre, and it is asserted, that eight tons hare 
been often produced ; one man weighed the pro- 
duce of half an acre, he was quite disappointed, 
it. only weighed three tons! Boyle Vandeleur, Esq. 
had twenty-four weighed loads of four cwt. each, 
on each acre of corcass > at 5l. per acre. It is not 
a little extraordinary, that so bad a kind as couch- 
grass (triticum repens) should be esteemed by many 
as a very valuable corcass meadow-grass. These 
rich lands are apt to be filled with rushes, where 
they are neglected, and chiefly where heavy cattle 
are permitted to go in winter ; I should think sheep 
at that seasdn should be the only stock permitted to 
pasture on ground of so very tender a surface. 
Mr. Singleton, who rents large tracts of these lands 
from Sir Edward O'Brien, has nearly destroyed 
rushes by constantly digging them up, as soon as 
they appear. The grasses, that predominate on 
those rich lands, are, 

Poa trivialis, Common meadow-grass. 

Triticum repens, Couch-grass. 

Cynosurus cristatus, Crested dog's-tail or thraneens. 

Trifolium 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. II? 

Trifolium pratense, Red clover. 

Trifolium repens, White clover. 

Bromus mollis, Soft brome-grass. 

A vena elatior, Tall oat-grass. 

Lolium perenne, Ray -grass. 

Holcus lanatus, Meadow soft-grass. 

Hordeum pratense, Meadow barley. 

Agrostis stolonifera, Creeping bent-grass. 

There are some more kinds, that I could not 
ascertain, but the above are the most numerous ; 
here, where I expected to have found the alope- 
curus pratensis in great perfection, I could not 
discover a single plant ; it flowers so early it might 
have escaped me, for it was September when I 
was there ; dactylis glomerata or rough cock's- foot- 
grass was very rare. As there are many very infe- 
rior kinds for meadow in the list, for instance, 
(jouch-grass, crested dog's-tail, soft brome-grass, 
meadow barley, and creeping bent-grass, it shews 
what luxuriance can effect ; for they were here so 
totally changed by it, that they were in general 
•upwards of three feet high ; any person, who has 
jeen the creeping bent-grass growing in worn-out 
dry soils, will scarcely credit this. There is a plant, 
which the inhabitants call lutther, growing in rivers 
of slow current or in stagnant pools, which produces 
extraordinary effects ; cows almost dry^ put into a 
field near where this plant grows, almost immedi- 
ately 



120 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

afce fy g* ve a great quantity of milk ; but they must 
be watched, for it has the same dangerous effect 
of every other kind of luxuriant green food, if eaten ] 
in too great quantities at once. On this plant geese 
grow to a large size, and become exceedingly fat 
and well flavoured in a short time, and make every 
exertion to procure it. 

Sect. 6. Artificial Grasses. 

Except by a very few spirited individuals, arti- 
ficial grasses are scarcely known in the county ; 
red clover and ray-grass are the only kinds, that 
are propagated ; even those in small quantities, and 
seldom used, as they ought, for soiling in the house. 
Indeed, until a more enlightened period arrives, 
tbey are the only kinds I would recommend to 
farmers ; gentlemen may, and should try every va- 
riety, that usefulness or whim has introduced. In 
tbis number, velcbes for soiling in the house will be 
found a most useful plant, because, though they aFe 
a valuable plant on the best soils, they will thrive 
on those, that have been impoverished by repeated 
corn crops, and, if sowed thick enough, (four bushels 
to the acre,) they will leave the ground in the cleanest 
state, and sufficiently ameliorated by their shade to 
produce a crop of clover and ray-grass ; in worn-out 
ground they have been tried against a fallow, and 

the 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. I2i 

the wheat has been ' always better than after the 
fallow. They should not be cut at random, as too 
often is the practice with all soiling crops, but a 
swath cut from end to end of the field in the di- 
rection the' future ridges are to run, and this mode 
followed in each successive cutting, by which ma- 
nagement the clover and grass-seeds may be sown 
in parallelograms, without waiting, as usually prac- 
tised, until the whole field is cut : there will be an 
advantage in thus sowing daily ; the seed will be de- 
posited in earth fresh stirred, which is a matter of 
no small moment in all crops, especially those sowed 
in dry weather. In the use of clover for soiling 
great waste is usually made, by delaying the cut- 
ting, until it is in flower, sometimes much later, 
when the stalks get hard, (this season will answer 
for hay, but is quite too late for soiling,) and when 
many of the bottom leaves are rotten, and the sap 
is wasted in producing that, which cattle seldom 
eat, unless pinched by hunger, and the greater 
part is often thrown on the dunghill. In feeding 
pigs this waste is particularly remarkable ; for, in- 
stead of eating all parts of the plant, as they would 
do, if given in a more succulent state, they only 
chew it, and often sucking the juices throw it out 
of their moutha in dry hard pellets ; on the con- 
trary, when it is given in a young state, every 
particle is greedily devoured. To use this most 

R . valuable 



122 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

valuable crop to the greatest advantage, the field 
should be divided into about thirty-two divisions, 
(a mathematical exactness is by no means neces- 
sary ;) this allows every second cutting to be about 
a month old, which in good ground will be sufficiently 
long for the scythe, and, if the length of each 
cutting is added together, it will be found much 
greater than that cut for hay ; to enjoy the full 
advantage of the soiling system, the first cutting 
mustte made, when the clover is about four inches 
long ; to many this may appear a great waste of 
food, but they will find the full benefit of it at 
the end of a month ; this should be practised, even 
if the clover was thrown on the dunghill ; it is almost 
needless to remark, that the ground should be well 
cleared from stones, and well rolled. Unless hay 
is scarce, or some other strong circumstance makes 
it necessary, soiling in the house, with this or any 
other green food, will be found not only more 
economical in its consumption, but infinitely more 
beneficial in its effects on the land, by the great 
quantity of manure that will be made, if proper 
care is taken to supply litter or dry turf-mould 
abundantly. At Dromoland, in the middle of Sep- 
tember, I saw the second cutting of coarse grass, from 
plantations and wood-lawns, given to eleven working 
oxen and thirteen horses in the house ; they had 
been fed for upwards of two months in this manner 

with 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 123 

with what in most places is generally permitted to 
rot on the ground, and becomes a nuisance to any 
well kept place; this feeding may be very mode- 
rately valued at 8.?. per month for the oxen* and 
16*. for the horses, in all 29/. 12s. ; a considerable 
quantity also of vetches, clover, Swedish and 
Norfolk turnips, are cultivated in a masterly style 
at Dromoland. White English hay-seed, holcus 
lanatus, is the kind very generally sowed, frequently 
the sweepings of the hay-lofts of inns ; for few gen- 
tlemen or farmers have an idea of saving their hay- 
seed in their stables, all is swept out in the dung, 
that is not eaten by the horse in the manger. 
This last kind of hay-seed, if produced from clean 
meadows, and well cleaned before sowing, is greatly 
superior to the former kind, (holcus lanatus,) which 
is of a very inferior quality, as it not only retains 
the dews very long in its woolly leaves, and retards 
the hay- making, but, when made into hay, is 
soft like tow ; the quantity of seed it bears is the 
only recommendation ; even this is very easily lost 
in the making, unless uncommon care is taken. 
This is usually the first grass produced naturally in 
reclaimed bog, and is of use, until it gives place 
to a better ; another kind of grass, also naturally 
produced in reclaimed bog, is the sweet vernal 
grass, (anthoxanthum odoratum,) and is of still less 
value. White clover is sowed only by a few gen^ 

R 2 tie men 



124 STATISTICAL SURYEY 

tlemen to lay down their lawns, for which put- 
pose it is peculiarly well adapted, as in the driest 
weather it retains its verdure, and, if any patches 
should fail, it will supply the deficiency by its 
creeping roots. 

Red and white clover succeed admirably well, 
when sowed with flax ; the superiority of the pre- 
paration ensures a good crop, and the upright 
growth of the flax not only shades it from the 
sun, whilst in its tender state, but the pulling of 
the flax destroys any young annual weeds, and 
does no injury to the long tup-rooted clover. 

Mr. O'Brien of Cratilow mowed clover twice this 
year, 1807, for hay, the last cutting in September; 
I imagine it would have been more profitably 
applied in soiling, especially where meadow was 
plenty. 

Sir Edward O'Brien, Mr. Boyle Vandeleur, Mr. 
Colpoys, Mr. Burton of Clifden, the Rev. Frederick 
Blood, and Captain Palliser are amongst the fe\\\ 
who sow clover or any other green crop. 

There has been a kind of ray-grass lately brought 
from England, called Pacey's, from the farmer in 
Northumberland, who first collected it from amongst 
the common kind. It possesses the following pro- 
perties : first, it requires less seed to the acre, on 
account of its tillering or propagating at the root 
more than the common kind ; secondly it ripens two 

or 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 125 

or three weeks earlier, and should be cut at least 
that much sooner ; thirdly, it will sustain more stock, 
which should be always put on earlier than on the 
common, before the stems get hard, and then the 
harder stocked, in reason, the better ; fourthly, it is 
known by a darker hue than the common kind in the 
field; two bushels to the acre will be sufficient. 

Sect. 7. Mode of II ay -making. 

There are few agricultural practices, in which 
this county is more defective, than in hay-making, 
except in very few instances, and those I fear 
accidental ; I never saw what I would esteem well- 
saved hay ; the cutting is almost always too long 
delayed ; if the weather is dry and sunny, it is turned 
so frequently, that it is completely bleached and 
sapless ; even in this state, instead of making it 
into tramp-cocks, or drawing it home, it is the com* 
mon practice to throw it iqto small cocks of about 
a hundred weight, in which it lies perhaps for a 
fortnight or more to soak, and probably at the 
end of this period it is again turned, and made 
into the same-sized cocks for another fortnight, 
thus receiving every shower at the top and sides, 
and, if in bottom meadows, damaged underneath. 
The farmers say their hay would heat, if put up 
sooner, not considering, that hay, until it ferments 

moderate! v. 



126 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

moderately, has not arrived to a state of perfection ; 
but if a farmer, on putting his hand into a cock, 
finds it the least warm, all his men are immediately 
summoned, and the hay is unfortunately spread out 
again to be sunned. I would by no means recom- 
mend that high state of fermentation, which turns 
the hay brown, and which English obstinacy in 
some counties prefers to green hay, but that, which 
gives the saccharine fermentation, and delightful 
perfume, without injuring that fine green colour, 
without which no hay can be good. 

If the grass is cut with rain or dew on it, it should 
be immediately well shaken by hand after the mow- 
ers, and in about two hours should be turned ; 
after remaining about the same length of time, it 
should be made into small grass-cocks, without per- 
mitting the dew to fall on it, and made on a smaller 
base than the slovenly practice of this county dic- 
tates; for this purpose the bottom should be well 
pulled, and the handfuls laid across each other 
on the top to help to throw off wet; if put 
up dry, it may remain two days in these cocks ; 
then, if the outsides are dry, three rows should be 
brought into one, which may be easily done by a 
man sticking his fork with long prongs (which by 
the bye I never saw in this county) into the cocks, 
and carrying them into the middle row ; there should 
be people stationed to shake out the hay imme* 

diately 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 127 

diately with their hands ; in about two hours it 
should be turned, and, after lying about the same 
time, made into field cocks of about a ton 
each. This method is calculated for dry weather ; 
if it is showery, the process must be more tedious, 
but in this county it is always more so than it need 
be. Every attentive farmer should go frequently 
through his field cocks, and try, by putting his hand 
in a good way, if the proper degree of fermenta- 
tion is going on; if the heat (which is seldom the 
case) is too great, the cock must be taken down, 
and instantly remade. If the grass is perfectly dry, 
when cut, there is no necessity for throwing it out 
of the swath until the following day, when the dew 
has evaporated, and the same process pursued as 
just now advised. This mode to an Englishman 
would appear tedious and unnecessary, but the grass 
in this moist climate is much more succulent, and 
there is not that drying quality in the air, that 
prevails in England ; even here in some dry up- 
lands, where the grass is thin, and the weather 
very hot, much of this turning may and ought to 
be omitted, for I would guard against the sun-beams 
as much as against rain. 

It is astonishing, how careless the proprietors of 
meadows subject to be flooded are ; scarcely a year 
passes that immense quantities of hay are not spoiled 
by neglecting to draw it to high ground : they also 

suffer 



1 28 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

suffer great losses by permitting their hay to remain 
too long in the field after having been made into 
cocks. In a country, where hay is so valuable, one 
would imagine a more careful management would 
be pursued. I have seen hay* more than once in 
the same season, caught by floods, yet still per- 
mitted to remain. 

The method, pursued in the north of Ireland, 
of making their hay into small lap-cocks, is a very 
superior one; but the mode I have presumed to 
suggest is more likely to be adopted, and will not 
alarm their prejudices so much, as directions how 
to make their hay into muffs. The lazy custom 
of shaking out hay with forks should never be 
permitted ; the hands will do it much more ef- 
fectually. 

When hay is in a fit state to make into tramp- 
cocks, it is an excellent method to draw it home 
to the stack-yard and make it into the same kind 
of cocks; these should be ranged on each side of 
the place intended for the rick, and will save a 
great deal of labour in pitching, &c. Circumstances 
will often occur, such as a continuance of wet 
weather, want of hands, &c. &c. when some devi- 
ation from the method prescribed must be made, 
but the nearer it can be approached, the better. 

Considerable injury is done not only to the crop, 
but to the ground, by the universal practice of 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 129 

mowing too late in the season ; if grass is let in 
corn acres, it is invariably deferred to a very late 
period, frequently the end of October. I have seen 
several fine corcass meadows, that were fit to cut 
in June, mowing in October; by this means the 
hay was not only greatly injured in its quality, 
(the bottom being quite decayed,) but there was 
a loss of the after-grass, which often lets for a 
guinea per acre on those meadows, that are cut 
in July, and finish cattle of the largest size for 
Limerick market. A gentleman in the county of 
Mayo has put an excellent plan into practice to 
prevent this wretched mode ; he lets his grass to 
be cut the first of August, at which time, or be- 
fore he knows it will be fit, he receives one-third 
earnest, which is forfeited, if the meadow is not 
cut before the first of September ; this practice 
deserves universal adoption, for the sake of both 
buyer and seller. 

Sect. 8. Dairies — their produce and management. 

Except near the town of Ennis, few regular dai- 
ries are kept, such as may be found in many parts 
of Leinster ; but a few farmers and cottiers supply 
the neighbouring villages with milk and butter. A 
good quantity of butter is sent to Limerick from 
Ennis, it is mostly produced near Clare and Bar- 
s rentick ; 



J 30 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

rentick ; lately a good quantity has been sent from 
Kilrush. h\ Ennis the new milk is usually from 
$d. to \s. id. per pottle of eight quarts, and fourteen 
quarts per pottle of thick milk, from which the cream 
has been skimmed, for 8d.* In this county they 
churn only the cream, by which means what they 
call buttermilk (but it is only thick skimmed milk) 
is not so good as in Leinster. From the general 
goodness of the pasture and the breed of cattle, 
the milk gives a large portion of butter : there is 
nothing particular in the method of making butter ; 
they have the vile practice, in common with the 
rest of Ireland, of putting too much hot water to 
the milk, whilst churning in winter, to hasten the 
process ; instead of this, the churn should be placed 
in a vessel of warm water some time before churn- 
ing, which would not injure the colour of the butter. 
In summer, when the mistress is not too fine a lady 
to pay attention to her dairy, the butter is usu- 
ally very good ; but I have met some ladies, who, 
so as their butter was made very pale-coloured, 
seemed to overlook the bad flavour proceeding from 
dirty vessels, and praised it highly ! It is produced 
in such various quantities, depending so much on 
breed, food, good milking, and dairy management, 
that any guess at the quantity would be ridiculous. 
A few farmers near towns hire their cows to their 

tenants, 

* Strange as it may appear, this is the usual measure. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 131 

tenants, whose wives retail the milk ; they usually 
receive five or six guineas per annum for each, and 
it is said the retailer, with the black cow's milk, 
(\vater>) is able to make 12/. per annum of the 
compound, if the cow is tolerably good. Farmers 
generally have from four to eight ; scarcely a cottier 
without a cow, some two, besides their succession. 

Almost every farmer has some butter to spare ; 
it is sent to Ennis, and from thence to Limerick 
for exportation ; it is packed in tubs of twenty-one 
and nineteen inches, and in firkins. 

Considerable quantities of sheep's milk are mixed 
with that of cows for the Ennis market, and those, 
who practise this deception, will not purchase any 
ewes but those, that are likely to help the pail. 

The filthy custom of permitting the calf to 
suck two teats, whilst the dairy-maid is emptying 
the other two, prevails here as well as in the 
county of Galway ; this delicate custom has cer- 
tainly economy to plead in its favour, as the drib- 
bling milk from the calf's mouth is caught in the 
milk-pail ; in some places the calf gets the fore- 
milk, in others he gets the last, or the strippings.* 

Very little cheese is made in this county, and 
that little very indifferent ; cream-cheese is some- 

s 2 times 

* The difference between cream or butter produced from strip- 
pings or last-milk, and that from the fore-milk, is from sixteen to 
one, and at the lowest eight to one, according to the goodness of th« 
cow. 



132 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

times made, but, as the butter is the perquisite of 
the lady, it is only on state days this luxury makes 
its appearance, and then it generally wants ripeness. 
Butter may be preserved sweet for several years 
by the following receipt ; it never gets hard or 
brittle, but stili looks like butter just taken from 
the churn ; it must not be used for a month after 
making. 

10 ounces of common salt, made very fine. 
2 do. salt-petre. 

2 do. best brown sugar. 

They must be well mixed together ; to each pound 
of butter add one ounce of this mixture; it must be 
well worked up, packed close, and well kept. 

Sect. 9. Price of hides, tallow, wool, and quantity sold. 

The greater part of the hides are sent to Ennis, 
and* any overplus to Limerick ; a good quantity 
is also bought at Kilrush for the same market : 
as there is no regular crane for weighing, and they 
are sent by boats from every little village on the 
Shannon, from Carrigaholt-bay to Limerick, there 
is no possibility of ascertaining the quantity ; but 
it is generally imagined there has been a consider- 
able encrease within the last twenty years ; they are 
sold for from 2s. to 5s. per stone, and always from 
3tf. to 6d, under the Limerick prices ; a higher price 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 133 

is always given for ox than for cow-hides. Tallow 
is generally from Ss. to lis. per stone of 16 lbs., 
and any redundancy is sent to Limerick. 

In the year 1802 there were sent in Christmas 
week, from the little village of Carrigaholt to Lime- 
rick, twenty-six hides, an uncommon quantity for 
so remote a place, and for one so apparently poor ; 
since that, the quantity sent to Kilrush and Lime- 
rick has greatly encreased. 

Wool sent to Ballinasloe in 1806 sold for 20s. 
per stone of 16 lbs., and in 1807 for about the 
same ; some superior samples brought a higher price, 
and those of an inferior kind much less. It is im- 
possible to ascertain the quantity sent from this 
county ; but when the great quantity of land, oc- 
cupied by sheep, is considered, it must be very 
considerable, for in the barony of Burrin alone 
it is estimated at nearly 10,000 acres. Buyers from 
Cork and Limerick generally go to the graziers' 
houses, and make such bargains as they can, and 
pay in bills at various dates ; this is a much better 
method for buyer and seller, than losing their time 
and money by striving to tire each other into a sale, 
as is practised at Ballinasloe at the wool fair in 
July. It is perfectly ridiculous to see sensible 
men walking about the streets of Ballinasloe, the 
buyers at one side, and the sellers at the other, for 
often six weeks or more ; this has been carried so 



134 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

far sometimes, that the buyers have made parties 
to take a tour to Killamey or elsewhere for a fort- 
night or more, thinking to tire the sellers into a 
bargain. Some regulations have lately been adopted, 
which, it is hoped, will be for mutual benefit; perhaps 
an auction, as has been practised lately in Dublin 
for South Down wool, would be the best method. 



CHAP. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 135 



CHAP. IV. 



FARMS. 

Sect. l'« Their size. 

THE size of farms varies greatly ; those under 
tillage from one or two to fifty acres, but of the 
latter size there are but few ; those devoted to 
rearing and feeding sheep are usually from one 
hundred to three hundred, and a few six hundred. 
or eight hundred acres. When very rocky, they 
are sometimes let by the bulk, and not by the 
acre, but the landlord generally knows the number 
of acres, that each farm contains. Where farms 
are too small to employ a pair of horses or oxen 
constantly, and too large to be cultivated by the 
spade, the occupiers are generally in a most un- 
comfortable situation, and, it being too much the 
wish of every cottier to become a small farmer, 
be passes from a state of comparative comfort to 
one of wretchedness. A labourer should have as 
much ground, as will give him plenty of grass 
for a cow, and an abundant supply of potatoes 
and vegetables, but the moment he goes further, 

adieu 



136 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

adieu to all comfort. If by great industry or some 
lucky circumstance he becomes possessed of as 
much money as will stock a farm well, then in- 
deed he may indulge this propensity of all poor 
men ; but mountain of all others is the place he 
should turn his thoughts to, and of which he may 
always procure any quantity on reasonable terms. 
Much has been said and written in England on 
the proper size of farms, and a great deal to very 
little purpose, but to expose their ignorance of 
the subject; the endeavouring to establish this 
agrarian system is something akin to the ridiculous 
proposals of some of our wise legislators to fix 
a maximum for the price of grain : how they would 
shake their noddles, if the farmers had meetings 
to fix the maximum of rent ? The pocket can be 
the only barometer, and will settle the proper size, 
of farms much better than these theoretical agri- 
culturists : to hear such proposals in a country, 
where every man has the most unlimited controul 
over the disposal of his property, is astonishing ; 
I have touched on this subject in another place. 
Our farmers are generally very deficient in capital, 
and of course pursue a very deteriorating system 
of cropping; it is too much the custom, even when 
they do by the utmost household economy save 
a little money, to hoard it up, especially in guineas, 
instead of expending it on draining, or any other 

permanent 



• 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 137 

permanent improvement. I am confident, that since 
the last disturbances a great part of the gold coin 
of the realm is hid in smoky cabins. One of the 
great distinctions between Irish and English peasants 
is, in the Irishman appearing much poorer than he 
really is, (though he is poor enough,) and on the 
contrary the Englishman shewing in his habitation a 
degree of comfort he does not possess, merely from 
the superior cleanliness of his cottage and his family. 
Mr. Young, in his Tour in Ireland, vol. 2. part 2d, 
p. 33, Irish edition, makes this very just discrimi- 
nation, and I believe it will be admitted, that few 
persons knew the habits of the English people better; 
he says, <e But of this food (potatoes) there is one 
"circumstance, which must ever recommend it; 
" they have a bellyful, and that, let me add, is 
M more than the superfluities of an Englishman 
" leave to his family : let any person examine 
" minutely into the receipt and expenditure 
" of an English cottage, and he will find that 
" tea, sugar, and strong liquors can come only 
tf from pinched bellies. I will not assert, that 
" potatoes are a better food than bread and cheese ; 
" but I have no doubt of a bellyful of one (which 
" the Irish almost always have) being much better 
" than half a bellyful of the other; still less have 
" Ij that the milk of the Irishman is incompara- 
" bly better than the small beer, gin, or tea of 
T the 



138 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

" the Englishman, and this even for the father ; how 
" much better must it be for the poor infants ? 
" Milk to them is nourishment, is health, is life. 
(t If any one doubts the comparative plenty, which 
" attends the poor natives of England and Ireland, 
" let him attend to their meals : the sparin^ness, 
" with which our labourer eats his bread and cheese, 
" is well known ; mark the Irishman's potatoe-bowl 
" placed on the floor, the whole family upon their 
" hams around it, devouring a quantity almost in- 
" credible; the beggar seating himself to it with a 
" hearty welcome ; the pig taking his share as 
(i readily as the wife; the cocks, hens, turkeys, geese, 
" the cur, the cat, and perhaps the cow, all partak- 
" ing of the same dish. No man can often have 
i{ been a witness to it without being convinced of 
w the plenty, and, I will add,, the cbearfuiness, that 
" attends it."* Again he says, p. 35 ; " An Irish- 
" man and his wife are much more solicitous to 
*f feed than to clothe their children ; whereas til 
" England it is surprising to see the expence they 
" put themselves to, to deck out children, whose 
" principal subsistence is tea. Very many of them 
" in Ireland are so ragged, that their nakedness is 
" scarcely covered; yet they are in health and 
" active. As to the want of shoes and stockings I 

" consider 

* This is much changed since that period*; pigs, fowl, &.c. are 
excluded, but the stranger is as welcome as ever. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 139 

€i consider it as no evil, but a much more cleanly 
(i custom than the bestiality of stockings and feet, 
" that are washed no oftener than those of our 
u own poor. I remarked generally, that they were 
" not ill dressed on Sundays and holydays, and that 
" black or dark blue was almost the universal hue/ 7 
Again in p. 3G ; u Their apparent poverty is greater 
" than the real, for the house of a man, that is 
" master of four or five cows, will scarce have any 
H thing but deficiencies ; nay, I was in the cabins 
" of dairymen and farmers, not small ones, whose 
" cabins were not at all better, or better furnished 
u than those of the poorest labourer ; before we 
" therefore can attribute it to absolute poverty, 
<l we must take into the account the customs and 
" inclinations of the people. In England a man's 
" cottage will be filled with superfluities, before he 
" possesses a cow. I think the comparison much 
" in favour of the Irishman ; a hog is a much more 
M valuable piece \of goods than a set of tea-things; 
" and though his snout in a crock of potatoes is 
" an idea not so poetical as 

«« Broken tea-cups, wisely kept for shew, 



*' Rang'd o'er the chimney, glisten'd in a row, 

u Yet will the cottier and his family, at Christmas, 
" find the solidity of it an ample recompense for 
" the ornament of the other.'* 

Frequently several persons join in the occupation 
T 2 of 



140 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

of a farm, and have about ten acres each ; but this 
wretched mode is wearing away fast ; it is a per- 
petual source of uneasiness to both landlord and 
tenant. 

According to the idea of farming in Leinster, 
there are but very few farmers in this county. In 
the county of Meath it is nothing uncommon for a 
farmer to have 100 acres of wheat, 100 acres of 
oats, and also 100 acres of unproductive fallow, be- 
sides meadow and grazing ; we are informed, in 
the most excellent Survey of Meath by Mr. Thomp- 
son, that Mr. Brabazon Morris had at one time in 
his farm-yard, at Tankardstown near Navan, the 
produce of 700 acres of corn, and 100 acres of hay, 
and at his other farms the produce of 300 acres of 
hay and corn : it may be necessary to mention, 
that Mr. Morris is likewise one of the most exten- 
sive graziers in Meath. 

Small farms generally yield more corn per acre 
than large ones, because the occupier almost always 
sows his corn in potatoe ground, that has been turned, 
and, what few great farmers do, pays attention to 
it whilst growing. That farms moderately large, 
and conducted on an improved system, are of more 
benefit to the public than small ones, I have not 
a doubt, and also to the proprietor, because he has 
usually more capital, and of course is able to lay out 
money in draining, liming, and otherwise improving 

his 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 141 



his land ; he has better implements, is able and 
inclined to give a high price for seed-corn of 
superior sample ; and for a variety of other reasons, 
that daily experience will point out, but above all 
from his not fallowing, and from his cultivating 
green crops; unless he acts thus, the larger his 
farm, the more he loses. 

It is very much the practice for graziers to oc- 
cupy a great quantity of land, and in situations 
very remote from each other ; it is utterly impos- 
sible, that these can be as productive as if occu- 
pied by resident tenants ; every grazier must know, 
that his herd is usually a partner, and many must 
feel, that they would be much more comfortable, 
if they did less business, and probably with more 
net profit. It is not to be supposed, nor is it 
often the case, that any man has sufficient capital 
for this various and extensive line of business; to 
one description of men it is peculiarly profitable, 
I mean the discounters of Limerick and Ennis, who 
could throw much light on this subject. 

Mr. Singleton occupies a large tract of corcass 
ground, above 1000 acres, besides much ground of 
inferior quality. 

Mr. Colpoys occupies as much ground, in vari- 
ous places, as he pays upwards of 4000A a year 
for. 

Several 



142 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Several other graziers possess great tracts of 
ground, especially in Burrin.* 

Sir Edward O'Brien tills above 130 acres, which, 
for a county, where many rich graziers buy their 
oats and straw, is an uncommon quantity. 

Sect. 2. Farm-houses and Offices. 

The better kind of farmers and graziers have 
generally comfortable dwelling-houses, and conve- 
nient offices; but, if some little cleanliness is ob- 
served at the front of the house, no person can 
go into the yard at night with impunity. The 
poorer sort are usually badly lodged ; their bouses 
are mostly of stone, without any kind of cement, 
and of course let in the wind and rain. From 
the universal practice in Ireland of having a step 
.down into the cabin, at least a foot below the 
level of the ground on the outside, they are al- 
most always damp ; the culpable carelessness or 
laziness of gentlemen or their agents, who permit 
this on their estates, is astonishing ; if even wet 
clay, well tempered, was mixed among the stones, 
it would not only make them much warmer, but 

would 

* To shew how little some know of their distant farms, I hare 
been well informed, that a Connaught grazier, on being asked to go 
and see a farm in Burrin, before he offered a rent for it, answered,. 
" Not I by G — j I did not see it these thirty years, and probably never 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 143 

would help to keep the stones in their places ; 
for, as every labourer is usually his own mason, 
they are often not very expert. Formerly there 
was scarcely a cottage, that had a chimney, and^ 
where the landlord has built them, he has frequently 
found a flag or sod on the top of the chimney 
to keep in the smoke, which, they say, keeps them 
warm ; this I have frequently seen myself, and, as 
the lower part of the cottage has for three or four 
feet from the ground but little smoke, they seem 
not to feel it, when they sit down ;* but in this 
a great change for the better is taking place every 
day, and none but the most wretched are now with- 
out a chimney. 

The better kind of houses are slated either with 
a hard thin sand-stone flag, procured in the wes- 
tern part of the county, and near Lough Lickin, 
or with slates raised near Broadford, equal to Welch 
ton slates. Cottages are always thatched, either 
with straw, sedge, rushes, heath, or too often po- 
tatoe-stalks ; sedge is preferred to straw, and six- 
pence per square perch is paid for it standing. 
Whilst the tenant is the builder of his house, little 
improvement can be expected, and, as the landlord 
never repairs, and the tenant usually gets his house 

and 

* It is remarkable, that the same custom prevails near Castle- 
«omer and in other parts of the county of Kilkenny, where they burn 
toothing but that abomiuable, sulky-looking, suffocating Kilkenny coal 



14* STATISTICAL SURVEY 

and offices in a complete state of dilapidation, he 
merely patches it up for the present. 

Cow-houses, even with some of the better kind 
of farmers, are not to be found, and other offices are 
perhaps equally rare. Cloacina frequently receives 
her offerings in the open air, and a person must 
tread cautiously, for, as no place of the kind is 
ever thought of for servants, they must do as well 
as they can, and it is astonishing, how little even 
people of. property think of this necessary appen- 
dage to a well-kept house. Where straw is plenty, 
thatching is generally very neatly performed, and 
some taste shewn in the finishing of the twisted 
ridge, greatly superior to the Leinster method of 
covering it with mud or even mortar, as the first 
rots the straw, and becomes a bed of weeds or a 
nursery for houseleek, and the last generally cracks 
and peels off. There is always an eve-course of 
either hammered or some flat kind of stone, above 
which the thatch is, in general, evenly and neatly 
cut. The dunghill is placed uniformly as near the 
door as possible ; even in towns the dunghill is 
permitted by lazy magistrates to accumulate almost 
to the top of the house, even in Ennis; it is ri- 
diculous to say, that they cannot prevent it ; some 
of these gentlemen should recollect their oath, and 
that it is not for their own advantage, or for the 
purpose of road-jobbing they receive their com- 
mission. 

Eew 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 145 

Few cottages are without sallows for kishes or 
baskets, and which every labourer knows how to 
make. 

The farm-houses on Lord Cbnyngham's estate 
are in general very comfortable, and have every 
appearance of an attentive landlord ; pity there are 
not separate tenures, and not joint tenancy. The 
cottiers of Boyle Vandeleur, Esq. are generally well 
lodged, and several new cottages are now building, 
for which purpose he gives them lime gratis. 

SecT. 3. Nature of tenures , general state of leases, 
and particular clauses therein. 

The general term of leases is for three lives or 
thirty-one years ; sometimes, but not often, three 
lives and thirty-one years ; twenty-one years or one 
life ; twenty-one years and a life. Some leases are for 
lives renewable for ever, by which many tenants have 
a better interest than the landlord. Bishops' leases 
are also very frequent, and much property depends 
on this most uncomfortable and discouraging tenure 
in the parishes of Dysart, Rath, Roughan, and others. 
Some landlords retain a power to plant on any 
part of their estate, on allowing the tenant the 
value of his land. I do not know of any other 
clauses not usually in leases elsewhere. Formerly 
much land was let in partnership, but, from a con- 

V viction 



146 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

viction of its pernicious tendency, many proprietors 
have abolished this mode, and greatly encreased not 
only their income, but their comfort, and that of their 
tenantry; for it was always a fruitful source of 
wrangling and litigation. Few leases are let with- 
out a clause of surrender, especially those of 
grazing farms, to guard against injury by a fall 
in the price of cattle, and, as much ground was 
taken when cattle brought a very high price in 
Cork and Limerick, it is likely the uncommon fall 
in the price lately will induce many to avail them- 
selves of this clause ; before I left the country, I 
heard many express themselves of this opinion. 

Fee simple estates usually sell for twenty years 
purchase ; freehold property for sixteen or seven- 
teen years ; bishops' leases for ten or twelve years : 
this marks the opinion of this wretched tenure, espe- 
cially for ground wanting improvement. 

A farm of corcass land in Tradree, containing 
about 212 acres, was lately purchased by Mr. 
-Singleton at the astonishing price of 5l. per acre, 
and he paid eighteen years purchase ; a few days 
after, there was offered by another person, for a 
lease of it, five guineas per acre, and to deposit a 
year's rent. 

The Earl of Egremont gives no encouragement 
to resident improving tenants ; the highest, unim- 
proving, middleman bidder, gets every preference ; 

Lara 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 147 

I am well informed, that his Lordship loses several 
thousand pounds a year by this antiquated and 
mistaken mode. The rent of land varies so much, 
that it would be almost impossible to ascertain it^ 
but, that there has been a very rapid encrease within 
the last ten years, is too evident to require much 
detail : land near Newmarket, that let ten years ago 
for from 20s. to 26s. per acre, now lets for Zl. and 
three guineas; in every other part of the county an 
equal rise has taken place. Corcass land, that now 
lets for five pounds, and five guineas, was let twenty 
years ago for 26s. an acre , and a large tract, the 
estate of Sir Edward O'Brien, is let on a lease for 
lives at 95. 6d. per acre, that would now let for five 
guineas. 

In the parish of Fenlaw, and many other places, 
80 or 100 acres are taken in common, and a reserve 
is made in the lease, that the tenant shall work 
any day that he is called on, under a penalty of 
paying double hire for a man in his place. 

Many large estates are fee farm grants. Tra- 
dree was a grant from Cromwell to General In- 
goldsby, extending along the Shannon and Fergus 
from Clare to Bunratty, and intended to extend a 
mile in breadth from the river, but it has been 
pushed much farther into the country. Tradition 
says, it was the private property of Brian Boroimhe, 
whence the name Tradree. the land of the kinsr- 

v 2 Sect. 



148 STATISTICAL SURVEY 



Sect. 4. Taxes or cesses paid by tenants. 

Owing to the fines for private stills, many pa- 
rishes pay above 5s. per acre ; this has been found 
the only method to detect them ; the poor people 
now in their own defence inform against them, 
but the profits are so great, that many are still 
at work. There is always so much road-jobbing, 
that, independent of this, the cess will always be 
high ; but if, however, the roads were well made, 
the people would pay chearfully for the accom- 
modation of gentlemen. Many parts of Burrin pay 
no cess or other charges, for, as they were not 
thought of any value, they were not included in 
the Strafford Survey; since -that they have become 
valuable for feeding sheep, and some even for 
cattle. 

Sect. 5. Proportion of working horses and oxen to 
the size of farms. 

Very much of this depends on the pocket of 
the farmer; where they can afford it, they gene- 
rally have more horses than are sufficient, or than 
they feed well, or keep constantly employed ; if 
they could be prevailed on to use only two in a 
plough without a driver, as practised by a few 

gentlemen, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 149 

gentlemen, and not pursue the ridiculous mode of 
ploughing in the lightest soils with four horses 
abreast, as very generally practised, there would 
be a material saving. Oxen are not much used, 
except in the southern parts of the county, where 
they* are worked by a few gentlemen and the 
better kind of farmers, four in a plough. Small 
farmers, and those, who have their farms in com* 
mon, accommodate each other, and frequently they 
hire from each other. The question of the com- 
parative value of horses and oxen remains unde 
cided, and is likely to do so, until a fair trial is 
made of well-fed quick-stepped oxen, or, which is 
better, spayed heifers, and not of large sluggish 
animals driven by two, and followed by another 
animal as lazy as themselves, and with collars, 
instead of yokes and bows, the most barbarous in- 
vention that ever disgraced a civilized country. 

Sect. 6. General size of felds and inclosures. 

In those farms adapted solely to feeding sheep 
the fields are generally of great extent, usually 
with only a boundary fence ; sometimes the fields 
are divided by stone walls, but frequently all are 
thrown into one by gaps made in the walls. Those 
in cultivation vary between one acre and twenty, 
but there are very few of the latter. The pro- 
portion 



J50 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

portion of grass-land to that of tillage is very 
various; in the baronies of Burrin and Inchiquin, 
the quantity of land under corn bears no proportion 
to that occupied in grazing-; in Inchiquin the lattef 
is probably at least eight to one, in Burrin conside- 
rably more ; in the baronies of Tullagh, Moyferta, 
Ibrickan, and Clounderalavv grass lands also predo- 
minate, but still a good quantity of oats is cul- 
tivated after potatoes in burned ground ; in those 
of Bunratty, Islands, and Corcumroe tillage and 
grass divide the soil more equally between them. 

Sect. 7. Nature offences. 

In the rocky regions stone walls are necessarily 
the only fence ; they are made very differently, 
according to the fancy or abilities of the proprietor ; 
the usual way is by stones piled on each other 
without any order like filigree work ; they are 
called Burrin walls, and form a very unstable bar- 
rier ; a beast scratching against one of them often 
brings down many perches, but this, from custom, 
is little regarded, for in a few minutes all is built 
up again, and the herds and their children have 
little else to do. I have frequently seen the gen- 
tlemen of the country with the greatest indiffe- 
rence throw down a large part of these walls, to 
gain an entrance for their horses and dogs; I 

have 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 151 

have even seen a rascally dog-teacher push down 
with his foot many perches, whilst the poor passive 
tenant must look on without murmuring ; if a per- 
son stopped to replace any stones he had thrown 
down, he would be heartily laughed at. Gentle- 
men, and more substantial farmers, usually make 
double dry walls, sometimes dashed with mortar, 
but oftener without it ; at this dry work the la- 
bourers of the country are generally very expert, 
and it is almost the only work they will under- 
take by task; if they are not watched, they do 
not put long stones enough across the wall to 
tie it, by which neglect it frequently opens in the 
middle, and falls to either side ; these walls are 
qsually made about five feet high, and cost about 
2s. 2d. to 2s. 4d. per perch.* Some few put a cop- 
ing of mortar, but the usual one is sods, which 
last but a short time, and greatly injure the 
ground, from which they are stripped : the wall is 
usually finished by throwing all the small broken 
stones on the top; instead of this, the large flat 
stones should be reserved for finishing, and, if 
they are left projecting a few inches, they will 
prevent sheep from leaping over them, and their 
weight will prevent their being displaced by cattle ; 
if they are laid in mortar, it will be still better. 

Walls 

* If ivy was planted to these dry walls, it would strengthen them 
greatly, and prevents cattle from throwing them down. 



152 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Walls are sometimes so badly built, and so low, 
and the breed of sheep So active, that it is neces- 
sary to put a bearding of furze, briars, or ttiorns, 
which soon fall off, and leave gaps, that require 
constant mending:. 

In many parts of this county a gate is a rarity; 
when cattle are to be moved, a man takes down 
a yard or two of wall, and, when the cattle are in, 
builds it up again ; this, even with men of pro- 
perty, is the general practice twice or oftener every 
day ; I have seen, at several gentlemens' houses, 
dairy cows and horses, that were moved twice 
every day, let in and out of the field in this manner: 
if a grazier wishes to shew his stock to a buyer, 
two or three i3le fellows and his wise-man ar-e in 
waiting, to throw down walls, and afterwards to 
build them up, and the wise-man always takes 
care to be near enough to hear what is said ; the 
gentlemen of the country seem to like this, and 
even frequently go aside to consult with this wise- 
man on what they ought to be much better 
judges of. 

Great exertions are made by some gentlemen, 

but more by cottiers, in clearing their land from 

stones; for this purpose walls ten feet thick are 

not uncommon, and pyramids of stones of a large 

size remain as monuments of Irish industry, and not, 

like the pyramids of Egypt, everlasting proofs of 

human folly. ' 

It 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 15$ 

It is the practice with many to give their walls a 
considerable batter, not only as saving labour and 
stones, but with an idea that it strengthens them ; 
but they do not consider that, in proportion as they 
deviate from a perpendicular, they become weaker ; 
it also supposes, that every stone is of equal weight 
with the opposite one ; as this is not the case, the 
heavy one thrusts out the lighter, and tumbles down 
a large part of the wall. 

Ditches are generally very badly made ; some 
few gentlemen are now beginning to turn their 
thoughts to this very necessary and comfortable 
improvement, but they seldom make them d^ep 
enough, or of sufficient breadth, and sheep and 
cattle run up them with ease ; and, as they are 
usually faced with sods, and too broad in the bot- 
tom and shallow, they are torn down by the feet 
of cattle, in search of the grass produced by these 
sods. Ditches should be made at least seven feet 
wide at the top, and, if the ground will admit it, 
should be at least five feet deep, and not broader 
at the bottom than just to allow a shovel to clear 
out any weeds or earth, that may accumulate in 
them, and, if water runs in them, the confinement 
of the stream will augment its force, and help to 
keep them always clear. If these directions are 
complied with, I would advise the ditch to be 
planted entirely with two-year-old seedling forest 

x trees* 



154 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

trees, without any thorn quicks ; they would not only 
afford equal shelter, but would be very valuable 
hereafter ; if they were planted at a foot or less 
asunder, they would always afford various cuttings 
for farming purposes, and a sufficient quantity might 
be left for timber, to which they would grow at 
two feet asunder ; for, as they would have air on 
two sides, they would not be injuriously drawn ; 
they should be laid in like quicks, and the best 
of the surface-mould of the ditch carefully preserved 
for them. Tenants, who have terminable tenures, 
should register them, by which means, at the end 
of their lease, they will be either paid their full va- 
lue, have a liberty of cutting them down, or get a 
renewal from their landlord rather than have his 
fences injured. In exposed situations I would re- 
commend beech, but, in general, ash will be found 
the most generally useful. 

In the neighbourhood of Killaloe, the fences are 
mostly made of furze, (ulex Europaeus,) which gives 
an appearance to the country not unlike that of 
some parts of Wexford. 

Sir Edward O'Brien has most excellent gates 

through the entire of his demesne and farms ; the 

piers are single hammered stones, and the gates 

are of oak, about four feet high, and nine feet 

broad, with spring fastenings, that enable a horseman 

to open them at either side without alighting; the 

piers are about six feet high. 

In 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 155 

In Tradree the fences are generally ditches, but 
very few are planted. I should imagine timber 
sallows could be planted in the corcass ditches to 
great profit. 

Sect. 8. Mode of draining. 

This sine qua non of the improvement of wet land*, 
is but very little practised ; some of the rich corcass 
lands, that let for five guineas an acre, are greatly 
injured by stagnant water. 

In the eastern and western extremities of the county, 
where immense tracts of ground could be reclaimed, 
it is scarcely ever practised ; some trifling attempts 
have been made by a few gentlemen, but in gene- 
ral with little skill, and too often by that worst 
and most wasteful of all methods, open drains. 
There is less excuse for this here than in most other 
counties, for stones abound in almost every place, 
where it is necessary. Much ground could be re- ' 
claimed by lowering or enlarging the outlets of 
tjie numerous lakes, with which this county is adorn- 
ed; Lough Tedane near Corrofin could be lowered 
for a very moderate sum, by which many hundred 
acres of choice ground could be gained ; it is not 
only the part at present covered with water, that 
comes under, this description, but the ground on 
every side, all meadow, is frequently spoiled by 
floods kept back from want of enlarging the outlet, 
! x 2 or 



156 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

or removing obstructions caused by some insigni- 
ficant eel-weirs, and I cannot too forcibly condemn 
the supineness of magistrates, who permit the erec- 
tion of such nuisances ; but if they do not affect 
any of their own grounds, they pass them by with 
the most perfect indifference. There is scarcely 
any of the other numerous lakes, that could not 
be as easily lowered, and as equally benefited. In 
some few situations, perhaps, stones for making drains 
could not be readily procured ; it fortunately hap- 
pens, that here in general there is a sod of suffi- 
cient adhesiveness to form a cover for them. 

To those, who may imagine such covering would 
not last for any length of time, it may be neces- 
sary, to state, that in many parts of Ireland and 
England drains are now running freely, that 
were made before the birth of any man now 
living ; but, as the method, though exceedingly 
simple, is little, if at all, known in this county, 
it would be adviseable to procure a man from the 
counties of Meath or Dublin, where these kinds of 
drains are better made than in any other part of 
Ireland. 

Sect. 9. Nature of Manures. 

» Limestone- gravel, that inestimable manure, is 
to be had in a great variety of places, and is 

used 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 157 

used in a few ; but there is not that use made of 
it, that its value deserves. Lime also, which can 
jbe had in the greater part of this county, is but 
little used. I suggested to a gentleman the great 
benefit he would receive by using it copiously on 
*a mountain farm he was reclaiming ; he seemed 
astonished I should propose such an expensive 
mode, for he would be obliged to draw the lime very 
near half a mile. Limestone was discovered by Mr. 
Donald Stewart some years since in the mountains 
of Slieve-on-Oir, on the estate of Henry Molony, 
Esq., yet I dare say, that to this day no use is made 
of it, and it is highly probable Mr. Molony never 
heard of any such thing. Mr. O'Brien of Cratilow 
has used a good deal of lime with great effect. 
Mr. O'Sullivan of Limerick allows his tenants on a 
farm, which he rents from Mr. Fitzgibbon, neat- 
Bridgetown, 3/. 5s. per acre for liming with sixty 
barrels ; hear this ye proprietors of estates, who 
will neither lime yourselves, nor encourage your 
tenants to do what a spirited citizen of Limerick 
has done. Astonishing improvements have been 
made in the neighbourhood of Killaloe, especially 
in the mountains between that and Broadford, by 
means of marie, inexhaustible quantities of which 
may be procured in the Shannon. It is raised by- 
boats, and drawn into heaps on the shore, where it 

generally 



J 58 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

generally lies until dry, and at leisure times is 
drawn to the land ; about fifty loads are used to 
the acre. The course of crops after this manure 
is usually ; 1st, potatoes ; 2d, barley ; 3d, oats; 4th, 
oats; then manure again, and pursue nearly the 
same wretched course : some variation does occur j 
they Sometimes sow a crop of wheat, and perhaps 
two of potatoes in succession, but in general the 
first is the favourite course, perhaps with the addi- 
tion of one or two crops of oats. An ancestor of 
Mr. Head of Derry was the first, who introduced 
the practice of dredging for it in deep water. The 
effects of this valuable manure in the production of 
the finest crops, added to the beauty of the un- 
dulating surface, and fine views of the Shannon and 
opposite country, render the ride from Broadford 
to Killaloe highly interesting. Marie has been used 
with great effect near Kilnooney, where it is raised 
in the valley near the old church, but it is not 
esteemed so much as that raised in the Shannon ; 
it has also been raised between Feacle and Lough- 
graney in the barony of Tullagh. It is probable 
it may be found in many other places, but this 
is not the county for agricultural exertions. 

A large and valuable mass of limestone occurs 
in the middle of the town of Toomgraney, but, 
though it is a nuisance, little or no use is made 

of 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 159 

of it as a manure, although it is the very kind, 
that is wanting on the adjoining mountains.* 

Sea-sand has been used with great effect by Mr. 
Morony near Miltown-Malbay, and by many others 
near the sea-coast in great quantities; it was not 
so much valued, until one proprietor of the shore 
charged five shillings for every hundred loads, and 
another a guinea, since which the demand has en- 
creased ; but that system, of running out the land 
after a manuring, (and which is the ruin of the 
agriculture of Ireland), is always pursued here ; 
about 300 loads are used to the acre, which will 
be sometimes drawn about a mile for 16s. 3d. 

Sea-weed (different varieties of algae) is another 
valuable manure, of which large quantities are 
used for potatoes, followed by a crop of barley or 
wheat ; it is frequently brought up the Fergus by 
boats to Enuis, and carried into the country up- 
wards of four miles; it eosts about four guineas 
per acre ; the potatoes are usually planted first, and 
get this first covering, and by degrees, as the weed 
can be drawn, it is spread over this, and covered 
by a second spitting and shovelling ; when they 
have the weed in time, they plant the potatoes on 
it at once. 

Ashes, 

* Two very large thorns, and a large lime, grow out of the fissures 
of these rocks quite exposed to the western breeze, and to all ap«- 
pearance growing without any earth. 



160 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Ashes, procured by burning the surface of ground, 
form a very large share of the manure of the county, 
especially of small farmers and cottiers ; if they 
could be persuaded to crop lightly, and cultivate 
alternate green crops, this method of procuring 
manure would be a blessing to the country; but 
at present it is only the prelude to the most ex- 
hausting and disgraceful system, that could possibly 
be pursued, and in which even men of good edu- 
cation and ample means of instruction outvie even 
the most ignorant peasant. 

The high prices given for rape-seed for some 
years back have induced many, even poor farmers, 
to break up moory ground and bog for this pur- 
pose, but scarcely have they ever thought of drain- 
ing it; and in a few years, from this neglect, and 
not using- anv calcareous substances, it reverts to 
its original state of unproductiveness: I have seen 
many situations, where a few shillings would have 
accomplished this, but they had no resident land- 
lord or enlightened agent to direct them. The 
farmers and cottiers are perfectly sensible of the 
value of manures, and therefore use great exer r 
tions to procure them, frequently to the very great 
injury of the high roads, the sides of which they 
generally dig away, and form deep trenches on 
each side, whilst the magistrates and conservators 
ride carelessty by. For potatoes they also in some 

places 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 161 

places make much use of a plant they call coonagh t 
which they gather, after the water has retired from 
lakes and turloghs; it is usually carried on the 
backs of women, boys, and girls, and lasts for only 
one crop. 

But the manure of all others the most beneficial, 
the most permanent, and that can be had at the 
least expence, and most certain in its effects, is 
irrigation ; yet it is scarcely known. Sir Edward 
O'Brien has lately prepared some ground for water- 
ing according to the expensive Gloucestershire me- 
thod, and is now enlarging his designs. The Rev. 
Frederick Blood has laid out some ground for this 
purpose, also Mr. George Adams, which he mows 
twice every year; Mr. William Adams has formerly 
made some random efforts, but abandoned it. I laid 
out a small field for Bindon Blood, Esq. at Ri- 
verston ; it was the worst of his ground, and though 
be set the farm, before 1 had an opportunity of 
cutting off the water from the mountain, that in- 
jured it greatly, yet the produce was astonishing, 
though it got only the water of February and 
March ; and though confessed so by the present 
tenant, yet any thing new being considered by him 
as an innovation, and a thing our fathers did ven/ 
well without, he regrets greatly, that the levels are 
not all filled in, and, to shew his contempt for 

X such 



162 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

such new Jangled whims, has not turned a drop of 
water on them this winter (1807), and, I am in- 
formed, does intend not to do so any more. There 
are very few parts of the county, especially the 
eastern and western districts, that could not take 
advantage of this blessing. Mr. Molony of Kil- 
tannon, and Captain Brown, who possess large tracts 
of mountain in the barony of Tullagh, which they 
now set for half-a-guinea an acre, probably much 
less, could, from the abundant supply, irrigate se- 
veral hundred acres, and, instead of half-a-guinea, 
make their ground worth at least four guineas an 
acre, and at a very moderate expence, probably 
not more than three guineas per acre. On Lord 
Conyngham's and Mr. Westby's estates great im- 
provements might be made, but the finest situa- 
tion I have any where seen is the mountain of Cal- 
lan (I believe the Marquis of Thomond's or Lord 
Conyngham's estate) ; there, the supply of water 
is equal to many hundred acres, but the propri- 
etor knows little of the capabilities of his estate, 
nor indeed does any gentleman, that I have met 
with; they seem perfectly satisfied, pursuing the 
old dog-trot method of their grandfathers, with 
that rise in their rent-roll, which fortuitous circum- 
stances have made. If the proprietors of land were 
aware of the value of this improvement, and with 

what 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 163 

what ease they might accomplish it, they would 
not let such sources of wealth flow unheeded to 
the Shannon, or the Atlantic ocean, and, instead of 
considering the streams from the mountains a nui- 
sance, (as they are with their neglect,) they would 
find them one of the most certain and profitable 
sources of emolument in the whole range of agricul- 
tural improvements. The expence of this great im- 
provement is usually very moderate, and, once accom- 
plished, it nearly ceases, for one man can attend a large 
tract of it ; the effects of the best manure are soon worn 
out, but this, for less than the cost of one manuring, 
lasts for ever, and is much more valuable than the 
richest dunging. It is necessary to caution those, 
who have an inclination to adopt this improvement, 
that their ground must be free from small ridges, anct 
that, the nearer it approaches to an inclined plane, 
the more perfect the improvement will be, and ex- 
ecuted at much less expence; but I would advise 
them not to think of it, unless they are deter- 
mined not to listen to their old-light friends and 
interested stewards, who usually set their faces against 
the adoption of any improvement they do not under- 
stand, and of which they are not the first movers, and 
to abandon all idea of it, if they will not go through 
with it with spirit and steadiness ; half measures will 
answer no purpose but to bring the practice into dis- 
Y 2 repute, 



164 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

repute, lose money, and gratify ignorance and preju- 
dice. In the many places, in which I have conducted 
this favourite branch of my profession, I have found, 
that very few have acted either with credit to me, or 
regard to their own interest; they very soon grew 
tired of the expence, and were put out of conceit by 
their wise-man or some very wise friend, and left off 
when they should have gone on : even after the work 
had been finished it has been totally neglected, 
and one gentleman near Dublin complains, that 
" watering was of little use to his land f yet, ex- 
cept the first season, not a drop of water has been 
turned on the land since it was finished, upwards of 
seven years ago. 

As lime is generally the only manure, that 
is carried to any distance, it becomes an object 
to have it well burned, and carried in that 
state, as it is much lighter ; good limestone loses 
about one-third of its weight in burning, and, as- 
three hundred weight of good stone will make about 
a barrel of lime, a great saving in the carriage may 
be made. The kilns of this country are generally 
very badly built; they are usually too wide at the 
mouth, and too shallow, which helps to consume too 
much fuel ; they should be made half as wide in the 
middle as they are high, and the width of the mouth 
should be one-fourth, or less, of the height; a kiln 
twelve feet high, and six feet wide at the belly, will, if 

properly 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 165 

properly attended, burn about sixteen barrels each 
day. A man can make good wages at 1 \d. per barrel 
for breaking and burning, if the stones are laid 
down for him at the kiln ; this is a much better 
method than breaking by the day, but he must be 
watched, to oblige him to break the stone small 
enough. When lime-kilns are constructing, great 
care should be taken that they are built substan- 
tially, and well backed with sand, to prevent the 
heat from escaping ; sand answers this purpose 
much better than clay or earth of any kind, as it 
does not, by sometimes shrinking, and sometimes 
swelling, form chinks, which are frequently seen in 
kilns, and seem to be unheeded. Every lime-kiln 
should have a parapet wall, to prevent the wind from 
affecting the burning ; dry stone-work, or even sods 
will answer, and, if a conical covering was erected, it 
would not only save fuel, but would prevent the burst- 
ing of kilns of this shape, when they are not drawn, 
before heavy rains fall, which frequently happens ; if 
not drawn immediately, they should be carefully co- 
vered. Robert St. George, Esq. of the county of Kil- 
kenny, has adopted a kiln of a very different shape 
from the above ; it is a cylinder of ten feet on a 
small pointed cone of five feet ; it burned twenty-five 
barrels of lime in the same time, that one of the 
usual oval kilns burned only twenty-one barrels ; 

it 



166 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

it was found easier to burn the stone in it, and 
much more easily drawn, the lime falling quickly, 
whilst it adhered to the sides of the others; a plate 
representing this kiln may be seen in the Survey of 
Kildare lately published. 



CHAP. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. i«* 



CHAR V. 



GENERAL SUBJECTS. 

Sect. 1. Population. 

THIS branch of every Statistical Survey must, 
I fear, remain very imperfect ; after a great deal 
of trouble, and many inquiries, I found nothing 
satisfactory, or that would lead to any thing better 
than probable conjecture, and of what use could 
conjecture be, but to lead people astray ? I found I 
could very nearly ascertain the Roman Catholic po- 
pulation, thanks to the liberality of the clergy of 
that persuasion ; but those of any other I found 
dumb, Dr. Duigenan had laid them under his inter- 
diction. 

The most useful tendency of the inquiry is 
easily answered in the affirmative ; the certainty 
of the rapid encrease is beyond the cavils of the 
most jaundiced croaker. The population of this 
county has been estimated by Dr. Beaufort at 96,000 
souls, but I conjecture it is considerably above that 
tmmber at present j vast tracts of mountain have 
been reclaimed since the publication of Dr. Beau- 
fort's 



US STATISTICAL SURVEY 

fort's Memoir in 1792, and even his account was 
taken from Mr. Bushe's tables published in 1777, who 
allows only 5\ persons to each house ; the CathoJic 
clergymen, who certainly have a good right to know 
it, were unanimous in stating the population at least 
65, some7^ to a house; probably the whole population 
may now be 120,000. But what use in conjecture? 
And, until some means are contrived by govern- 
ment, that will not alarm the lower orders of the 
people, it can be nothing better; every thing I have 
seen on the subject, except the Essay lately published 
by Dr. Whitelaw, deserves little notice. But, thanks 
to the food, upon which our people subsist, there 
can be no danger of a failure, and, whilst the root 
of plenty is so easily procured, and a family of six 
persons maintained upon less than an acre of ground, 
a man has no apprehension of poverty ; consequently 
early marriages will and do take place, (especially 
as we are not cursed with that badge of English 
slavery, poor laws,) and children are little or no 
burden; the plenty of potatoes and milk is such, 
that the children are almost always eating ; let 
those ignorant cavillers, who say that potatoes and 
milk is not nourishing food, look at the children, 
generally in rags, but with even' appearance and 
reality of ruddy health, and, if that is not sufficient, 
let them attend a foot ball or hurling match, and see 
the superiority of potatoes and milk over gross 

cheese 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 165 

cheese and bad beer. In the neighbourhood of 
Six-mile-bridge the population is very great, even 
of people in good circumstances; for, in a circle 
of about five miles diameter, upwards of twenty- 
eight respectable families reside almost constantly, 
and, except a little bickering about road-jobbing, 
keep up an intimacy. 

Sect. 2. Number and size of Towns and Villages. 

Ennis, the capital of the county of Clare, is 
estimated by the best informed of the inhabitants 
to contain about 9,000 souls ; twenty years ago 
it was much more ; the Assizes and Quarter Ses- 
sions are held there j& the cottages for poor people 
are much better now than twenty years since, but 
the morals of the people deplorably worse, for the 
Rev. Mr. Barret, titular Dean of Killaloe, informs 
me, that formerly there were upwards of 2,000 
communicants of his persuasion in Ennis, but at 
present not more than 900 ; this great decrease 
therefore cannot be imputed entirely to a decrease 
in population, nor, I am certain, to a preference for 
any other mode of worship. 

Killaloe, Kilrush, Innistymon, Six-mile-bridge, 
z Corrofir^, 

* The Sessions, held in this county in October, are at a very incon- 
venient time, for it is during the great fair of Ballinasloe, when the 
jreater part of the respectable landholders are there. 



170 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Corrofin, Kilfenora, Skarrif, and Miltown, are the 
principal towns and villages. 

Kilrush is rising fast into some consequence, and, 
if want of capital did not prevent it, would export 
many articles of agricultural produce, that are now 
bought on commission for the Limerick merchants. 
A good quantity of corn and butter is bought by 
Mr. Patterson, a very active and intelligent inha- 
bitant, who has been of the utmost benefit to Kilrush 
and the adjoining country. If houses were built in 
favourable situations on the sea-shore, many, who 
go to other places, - would make this their summer 
residence, because they could have a daily con- 
veyance by water from Limerick, and many parts 
of Tipperary, but they complain, that ground for 
houses is kept up so high, that they are obliged 
to go elsewhere. Between the Revenue house and 
Scattery-island, on a sloping bank to the Shannon, 
there is one of the finest situations for a crescent 
of houses, that, I am convinced, would take re- 
markably well. I presume to think that, instead of 
demanding a high ground rent, it would be greatly 
for the interest of the proprietor even to make a 
present of ground plots, to induce people to build. 
This would not only cause a rapid rise in the 
rents of the adjacent country, but, by creating a 
market for the consumption of produce, would ex- 
tend this rise in the value of land very far into 

the 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 171 

the country. I regret I am not able to state the 
encrease of exports and imports of this port ; had t 
received an answer to letters I wrote to those best 
able to answer my queries, or a personal answer 
from the rector, my statement would not be thus 
imperfect.* 

Miltown, through the exertions of the proprietor, 
Mr. Morony, is likely to become one of the best 
inhabited parts of the county ; a few years since 
there was scarcely a house but his own, but 
now there may be seen in every direction a great 
number of neat lodges ; and, as he is daily adding 
to the comforts and elegance of the situation, I 
trust and hope he will be amply repaid for his 
spirited exertions ; he should be a pattern to other 
proprietors in this and an adjoining county, who, 
from a mistaken policy in demanding high rents, 
drive away those, who would improve their estates. 
Mr. Morony's gardens are amongst the best in the 
county ; though close to the shore of the Atlantic, 
they produce the greatest abundance of the choicest 
kinds of fruits and vegetables ; but any part of a tree, 
z 2 that 

* I have been accused by this gentleman of not making a per- 
sonal application ; I went twice to Kilrush for that purpose, but was 
not fortunate enough to meet him ; my mode was generally to send 
printed queries before I had a personal communication, that the 
gentlemen might be in some degree prepared, and I had ever,y reason 
to hope, that the laudable designs of the Dublin Society would not 
hare been sacrificed to etiquette. 



H2 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

that rises above the wall, is immediately destroyed ; 
the German tamarisk (tamarix Germanica) seems to 
stand this situation better than any other tree. 

A very handsome church has been lately built at 
Miltown ; but, though it was ridiculed at first as 
too large, it is found now to be much too small for 
the great accession of genteel inhabitants ; the seats 
have been arranged, as they should be in every 
church ; there are no churlish pews, but every person 
sits where he chooses; they all face one way 
towards the communion table, and are certainly 
much better adapted to a place of worship than 
pews.* Mr. Morony is now building at Spanish- 
point elegant and commodious hot and cold baths, 
and a hotel capable of containing upwards of sixty 
single beds, with spacious assembly rooms, &c. &c. 
Races are often run here, as another amusement 
for the lodgers. 

A great natural curiosity may be seen near Mr. 

Hare's house, called the puffing hole ; it spouts the 

ivater to a considerable height with great force, 

and, when the sun shines, forms at each emission 

of the water a beautiful iris ; there are also several 

others on this coast, at Doolen, Baltard, Cloghan- 

sevan, &c. 

Six-mile-bridge 

* In the month of April 1806, I went to Drogheda cburck, but 
after walking up one aisle, and down another and encountering the 
broad stare of the congregation, I found there was no admittance 
for a stranger, and was obliged to walk out of the church; on relating 
this, I was informed it was not uncommon in that church. 



•qScjinj, 



•A^UBiSuiOJ, 



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OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. H3 

Six»mile-bridge was formerly of some note, but is 
now in a rapid decline ; it has the skeleton of a 
beautiful market-house, the ruins of an oil-mill, and 
an extensive flour-mill almost in ruins, and quite 
idle (1807,) but I understand it is likely to be at work 
soon. It is the estate of the Earl of Egremont, but 
is rented on a lease for ever. 

Newmarket is advancing fast in building and 
every kind of improvement, but it has the unusual 
benefit of a resident and attentive landlord. 

Sect. 3. Habitations, fuel, food, and clothing of 
the lower rank, and their general cost. 

HABITATION*. 

The cottages of the labouring classes are almost 
universally built of stone without any cement ; 
some few in the mountains and bogs are constructe4 
very badly with sods; the couples are about 
two feet asunder, and support what are called rib- 
beries or stretchers ; across these the small branches 
of trees are laid, and on these thin tough sods, 
which support the thatch, and into which the straw, 
after being wound up in handfuls, is thrust by an 
iron instrument like a dibble. Frequently heath, 
fern, rushes, sedge, and sometimes potatoe-stalks, 
are used instead of straw ; the potatoe-stalks last 

only 



174 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

only one winter, and are a wretched covering. They 
have generally a step down into them, which causes 
them to be always damp, and, as the dunghill is 
usually near the door, it adds to the damp filthy 
state of the cabins. On this damp floor the straw 
or hay, on which they sleep, is generally spread, 
and often the pig and dog partake of the same 
bed ; as they are fond of having the smoke about 
them, it adds to the filthy appearance of their habi- 
tations; yet out of these huts issue the sinewy arms, 
that chiefly man the British fleet and armies. It 
is vain to expect any alteration, until the gen- 
tlemen and farmers set an example of cleanliness 
about their own dwellings, which, though they may 
have a handsome approach and plantations in the 
front, are, in general, in a most filthy state near 
the kitchen door. 

FU"EL 

Is universally turf or peat, which abounds in almost 
every part of the county, except a part of Burrin, 
x\ hich is supplied on the sea-coast from Cunnamara 
on the opposite side of the bay of Gal way; a boat- 
load, containing from forty to sixty back-loads, costs 
from 20s. to 28s. ; in other parts of this rocky coun- 
try, remote from the sea, the inhabitants are greatly 
distressed for firing, which must ever remain a bar 

lo any great increase of population. 

A labourer 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 175 

A labourer will cut asrmuch turf in two days, as 
will serve bis family for a year, and his wife and 
children save it; the carriage home is generally 
performed by placing two small baskets on a horse's 
back; or,; where they live very near the bog* or the 
ground is rocky or very soft, the family carry it 
on their backs, and it is astonishing what a weight 
some of these little creatures will cary. The 
price paid for liberty to cut turf is very various, 
and though in some places, where it is becoming 
scarce, a high price is demanded, and must be paid, 
yet in general it is reasonable. In some places band 
turf, or that made into rolls with the hand, is 
used, and makes a more lasting and hotter fire 
than that cut with the slane. Where turf abounds, 
it is seldom cut to the bottom of the bog, and 
the best turf is left behind; this is also occasioned 
by the very general neglect of draining, and surely, 
where a high price is charged, it is incumbent on 
the proprietor to drain the bog, to give the poor 
people the full value of their money. Too often the 
proprietor permits his bog to be cut into holes, 
which, not only helps to keep the bog always wet, 
but the chief expence in reclaiming bog is occa- 
sioned by the necessity of filling in these holes. 
Agents to estates are here in general highly culpa- 
ble; they never think, nor care, that in the next ge- 
neration 



176 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

neration many estates will be but thinly inhabited, 
from a want of this necessary of life. 

In the parish of Kilraghtish, and other places, 
no price is paid for the bank, from which the 
turf is cut, as is the practice in other counties ; 
but six guineas per acre are charged for the ground, 
on which the turf is spread ; this ridiculous custom 
occasions the turf to be badly saved, and in wet 
seasons often lost; for the poor people, to save 
this expence, heap their wet turf on each other, 
and lose a great deal of time by frequent turning. 
In other places ground for spreading on is let for 
6s. per square perch, (48/. per acre.) Some charge 
different prices for certain dimensions per agree- 
ment : for hand-turf, eight guineas per acre are 
charged for both spreading-ground and turf-bank. 
In most places the turf, after being cut and thrown 
upon the bank, is carried away in barrows, and 
spread by women and children, and the drying, 
called footing, continued until it is clamped. Some 
throw up the turf on the bank to a man, who re- 
ceives it on a pitchfork ; he flings it seven or eight 
yards to another man ; this is repeated, until it 
has reached the drying ground, and injures the turf 
greatly. 

roop. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 177 



FOOD, 

Scarcely any other than potatoes and milk ; this 
last not always in winter, but in greater plenty than 
formerly. 

On the sea-coast a good deal of fish is eaten ; 
but a rocky unsafe shore, exposed to Atlantic storms, 
debars them in many places from catching that 
quantity they might, and with which the sea 
abounds ; they are also unable to purchase the pro- 
per apparatus for fishing in deep water. 

Almost every cottier has a small garden, chiefly 
occupied with cabbages; some few sow onions, 
parsnips, &c. ; but the standing and favourite dish 
is potatoes and milk: to prove, that this food is 
perfectly sufficient to enable them to undergo the 
hardest labour, we need only observe the quantity 
of work performed, when they work by task, and 
the astonishing feats of activity and strength they 
perform at their amusements of hurling or foot-ball. 
The labourers, who migrate to England every 
harvest, shew how equal to the hardest work they 
are, and, so far from living on the heavy cheese and 
other gross food, which an Englishman is always 
cramming into his mouth, they live nearly as spa- 
ringly as they do at home ; otherwise they could 
not bring home so much money, the accumulation 

2 a of 



HS STATISTICAL SURVEY 

of which is their only inducement to leave their own 
country ; they certainly can have none in the sua- 
vity of their English companions in labour, and 
shew in a very flattering light the superiority of 
our too often despised countrymen in every amiable 
trait of character ; in Ireland you will never hear 
any of those illiberal remarks, that poor Paddy 
must hourly hear in England. As Mr. Young, in 
his Tour in Ireland, says, " they have nothing of 
that incivility of sullen silence, in which so many 
Englishmen seem to wrap themselves up, as if re- 
tiring within their own importance." 

In the neighbourhood of Dromoland and Quin the 
men are remarkably tall and well made, yet I can- 
not learn, that they live better than their smaller 
neighbours. 

Much ground is let to poor people, and to others, 
living in towns, to burn for potatoes ; the price 
has encreased with the demand, and some ground 
lets so high as 8l. per acre, and for various lesser 
sums down to 4l. ; frequently the same price is 
paid for a second crop. The quantity consumed 
by a family of six people, which is greatly under the 
average of each house,, is usually about twenty-two 
stone per week, which, at 128 stone to the barrel, 
and fifteen barrels to the acre, makes the quantity 
of ground necessary for this consumption to be 
something less than an acre ; but, as the quantity 

produced 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 179 

produced is often not 'so great, it may be fairly 
stated, that an acre is fully sufficient, including a 
pig or two, dog, cat, fowl, and not a little to 
strangers, who never meet with a refusal, if they 
come at meal times. 



CLOTHTNC. 

The usual material for the men is frize, made 
at home by the wife or daughters, who all make 
a sufficient quantity for the family, and frequently 
have some to sell; it is much better than that made 
by manufacturers for shops. The petticoats of the 
women are often of this kind, but more frequently 
of coarse flannel dyed a bad red, which they also 
generally make and dye themselves ; sometimes they 
wear short jackets, not unlike spencers, of the same 
materials and colour, when about their business; 
but, when they go to the chapel or to the market, 
they frequently wear dimity and other cotton fabrics, 
and cotton or stuff gowns, which they purchase 
from shop-keepers or pedlars at fairs or markets. 
In the western part of this county, and about 
Corrofin, they, knit a great quantity of coarse yarn 
stockings, which are the general medium of barter 
for what they want; sometimes they bring coarse 
linens, called handle-cloth, canvas for bags and 
sacks, butter, eggs, yarn, &c. &c, the price of 

2 a 2 which 



1S& STATISTICAL SURVEY 

which also is usually laid out with the dealers for 
necessaries; money for these small articles is seldom 
brought home: happily, as yet, very little is thrown 
away on tea and sugar. Hats made in the country, 
chiefly near Skarriff, and which cost from about 3s.9~d. 
to 5s. 5d. are worn by the men ; the women seldom 
wear any thing but a handkerchief on their heads ; 
in wet weather the hood of the cloak protects them. 
Shoes, generally of leather badly tanned, are sold 
for, single pumps 6s. ; turned pumps for beaux, 7s. 
to 9s. ; with two soles, 8s. 8d. Waistcoat generally 
of frize, sometimes of cottons of different kinds. 
Breeches of frize are usually worn by old men ; 
the young men wear generally thicksets, or sheep- 
skin prepared at home. Wigs of wool, from Is.l^d. 
to 2s. 8^d. On week days, at their daily labour, 
they are in general but badly clad, but on Sundays 
they make a very clean and respectable appearance. 
The men frequently in summer, but the women 
almost always, go without shoes or stockings, and 
so tenacious are they of this custom, that it is with 
the greatest difficulty they can be persuaded to 
wear them, when taken into gentlemens' houses; 
and indeed in almost every house is this filthy habit 
permitted, or viewed with indifference by the lady, 
and I have seen even some young ladies not averse 
themselves to appearing in shoes without stockings. 
In every part of this county the clothes (I mean 

those 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 181 

those of the lower rank) are washed by beating them 
in a river on a large smooth stone with a flat board, 
called a beetle ; for this purpose they will stand for 
hours up to their knees in water, even in cold weather; 
after this they run to the fire ; this causes the legs to 
be full of black and blue spots, and to swell to a 
great siize ; these were the kind that partial Twiss 
described in his tour, as the standard of Irish legs ; 
but our country-women, with the assistance of their 
friends at the earthen-ware manufactories in Eng- 
land, were not long in his debt. 

Sect. 4. Prices of wages, labour, and provisions. 

In some parts of the county, where a labourer is 
constantly employed, he gets 8d. per day ; if only 
occasionally, or at harvest, \0d. to is. id. and diet; 
in other places he receives Q\d. per day through 
the year, if occasionally, Q\d. and diet; the rates in 
others are IQd. if constantly employed ; some persons, 
who give small plots of ground and a cabin, with 
potatoe ground at the rate, for which land let ten 
years ago, pay 8^., some 6d., and some only 5d. ; 
Mr. Singleton of Quinville pays his cottiers only 5d. 
through the year, but they have bargains of ground, 
that make their wages at least equal to lOd^. Stating 
the rate of wages will by no means ascertain what 
the labourer receives, for, as in the case of Mr. 

Singleton, 



182 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Singleton, they have an equivalent in land, and fre- 
quently those, who have the highest nominal wages, 
are charged enormously high for their potatoe 
ground, and perhaps a wretched cabin, that they 
built themselves. Very little labour is performed 
by task, sometimes tbreshing is done, but complaints 
are always made of their leaving much com in the 
straw ; the labourers, from not knowing the value 
of task-work, are averse to it ; weje it as well 
known as it deserves, almost every species of work 
would be executed in this manner ; it would be 
for the mutual benefit of both employer and la- 
bourer ; one would have more than twice the quan- 
tity of work done in the same time, and the other 
would be able to earn nearly twice his usual wages ; 
the chief difficulty would be to prevent the exe- 
cution of the work in an improper manner, but 
this could be easily prevented by standing by, and 
instructing a man in making a perch or two as 
it ought to be, and insisting steadily on the exe- 
cution conformably to the pattern. Whenever I 
perceive any attempt at trick, I always have the 
ditch, or whatever it may be, levelled, and make 
the task-man, at his own expence, remake it ac- 
cording to the plan ; this seldom fails of effecting 
the purpose, but, as it frequently happens, that 
unforeseen difficulties occur in the execution, such 
as large stones, strong springs of water, &c. &c , in 

such 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 183 

such cases a liberal allowance should be made. It 
should also be insisted on, and enforced by a stop- 
page of wages, that the work shall be executed at 
a fixed period, and that a certain number of men 
shall be constantly employed ; otherwise, as they 
think they are sure of the job, they will go else- 
where, and return to their task-work, only when 
they cannot get work at any other place ; but still 
an allowance should be made for continued wet 
weather, or other unavoidable obstacles. Many, 
who are not accustomed to this mode, may ima- 
gine, if they see a labourer earn perhaps twice as 
much as his usual hire, that a great abatement should 
be made in his agreement ; where this pitiful idea 
prevails, all thoughts of task-work had better be 
abandoned, and the old lazy system pursued. It is 
policy as well as justice, that a labourer should 
receive higher wages for greater exertions ; besides, 
in a country, where this practice is unknown, if the 
labourer earned even a little more than he ought, it 
will help to establish the practice ; at a future period 
it ma}' be brought down to an equitable standard, and 
competition amongst the labourers will assist to fix it. 
That labourers do not receive in general a sufficient 
remuneration for active exertions, I am perfectly con- 
vinced ; we often hear of such and such gentlemen 
giving the usual rate of the country, and a cabin 
and potatoe ground, and grass for a cow. There 

are 



T84 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

are numbers in the city of Dublin, I am certain, that 
think these are always given gratis ; but so far from 
it, the gentleman gives perhaps a few sticks of small 
value towards building a cabin, and the cottier 
finds every thing else ; the potatoe ground some 
waste spot worth little, and that probably takes 
many days of hard labour to clear ; yet the cottier 
is charged for this at least as high a rent as for the 
best acre on the estate. The grass for a cow is 
generally some worn-out or wet boggy pasture, over- 
stocked, and charged equally high as the potatoe 
ground ; yet these are the favors, for which the 
landed proprietors expect the most active labour, 
and it frequently happens, that the poor man, after 
all his exertions, for some trifling omission gets 
warning to quit on the first of May. That there 
are many exceptions to the above mean-spirited 
landlords, I have had great pleasure in witnessing, 
and would feel great pleasure in particularising them, 
but, as it would appear invidious, I desist. In the 
year 1800 potatoes sold for 6d. or Sd. per stone by 
retail ; by the barrel they were sold something 
cheaper ; even at that price they were hard to be 
got, as the demand for those for seed, and an opinion 
that they would be dearer in summer, kept up the 
price; (in Dublin at that period they were 2s. 4d. per 
stone;) now (1807) they are for Qd. and 2d. per 
stone by retail, which is reckoned dear. 

House* 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 185 

House-carpenter, from 35. 9^. to 4s. 4d. per day; 
hedge carpenter, 2s. 2d. and diet per day ; thatcher, 
3s. 3d, and diet per day ; herdsman and shepherd by 
agreement. 

Ploughmen, who are expert at skinning ground 
for burning, receive usually 3s. 3d. per day and 
diet ; they find their own plough, and the farmer 
finds two horses and a driver; their plough, though 
of the very rudest workmanship and materials, (ge- 
nerally small rough birch,) performs the work equal 
to any I ever saw at any of the ploughing matches 
of agricultural societies; they take a sod about ten 
inches broad, and from two to five inches deep, 
as they are desired; the ploughman, that I saw 
executing this work, was in such demand, that it 
was necessary to bespeak him some time before he 
was wanting; he works very quick, making the horses 
go at a smart rate, and takes great care to keep the 
wing of his share and coulter always very sharp, 
which is a great contrast to the general mode of the 
country, and indeed of Ireland, for the coulters 
are frequently an inch broad in the cutting part. 

At Miltown-Malbay labour is 6\d, per day, the 
rent 4/. per acre for ground, and 6l. for the grass of 
a cow ; what an unfeeling disproportion ! Thirty years 
ago the rate of wages was 6d. per day ; the grass 
of a cow was then about thirty shillings, rent of 
a cabin and an acre of ground, much better than 

at present, 30s, 

2 B Now 



186 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Now the rate of labour is only 6d., or at the 
utmost $</., grass of a cow from three guineas to 
five guineas, a cabin and an acre of potatoe-ground 
four pounds, frequently much more. I need not 
enter into calculations to shew the depression of 
the lower classes of the people ; the above compa- 
rison is worth a volume of the most laboured de- 
ductions. I am happy to have the authority of so 
competent a judge as Mr. Young, who, in his Tout 
in Ireland in 1779, second part of vol. 2, gives a 
detail of oppressions, which, I am sorry to say, are 
too frequent at this day, and I can assure Mr. Young 
he is by no means a favourite in this county ; he 
told too many tales about middle-men* 

The bread of this county is, in general, exceedingly 
good, but seldom has a sufficient quantity of salt 
put into it, and is too crumbly, owing to some 
mismanagement in the making ; this fault may be 
generally found all through Munster and Connaught, 
and indeed in most country towns in Ireland. 

Sect. 5. State of Tithe — its general amount. 

The rates of tithe vary according to the dispo- 
sition of the clergyman or his tithe-proctor, and are 
a tolerable barometer of the love or dislike of his 
parishioners; where they are higher than customary, 
you may be certain of finding a turbulent divine, 

wh© 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 187 

who will have his rights, regardless whether he is 
liked or disliked, or, if he is a non-resident, his proctor 
is of the same way of thinking. If, on the con- 
trary, they are moderately exacted, the love and 
respect of his neighbours follow of course. In the 
parishes of Inchiquin, Rath, and Kilkeedy the in- 
cumbent receives about one-fourth of what he might 
legally demand. In the corcasses half-a-guinea per 
acre has been this year demanded, and, considering 
that the produce is the bounty of nature, without 
any expenditure, is not unreasonable; nor is it con- 
sidered so by the better sort of tenants for ground, 
that produces seven tons of hay per acre ; but, 
if rated at only five tons, the tenth at a very mor 
derate calculation would amount to a guinea an 
acre. In the neighbourhood of Newmarket the tithes 
are generally farmed out, which is a constant source 
of wrangling and discontent, and usually concludes 
w r ith the vicar's making an abatement of one-third of 
the proctor's demand ; surely this needs no comment. 
In the .parish of Kilnaboy, the tithe of wheat is 
generally 10s., oats 6s., bere, barley, and potatoes, 
Ss. per acre. In the mountains of Killaloe, tithe, 
if not set by valuation in the bulk, is 6s. or Is. for 
oats, barley, and flax. Parish of Inchicronan gene- 
rally by agreement; if by the acre, wheat Ss., oats, 
barley, meadow, and potatoes 4s. ; flax not tithed. 
Flax and green crops are not in general tithed, 
2 B 2 as 



188 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

as in some other counties. Dr. Parker receives 
seventeen guineas for eel-weirs at Killaloe. In the 
parish of Fenlow two parts are impropriate, and one 
vicarial ; the first belong to the Earl of Egremont, 
and the last is in the gift of the Bishop of Kil- 
laloe. The rector of Tomgraney has tithes in the 
following parishes; Tomgraney, Kilballyhone, Moy- 
ferta, Kilkeedy, Kilfarboy, Inchicronan, Feacle, 
Tullagh, Killard, Killuran, Killokennedy, &c; what 
a monstrous abuse of the institution is this? Some 
of these parishes are upwards of fifty miles asunder, 
and no kind of duty performed by him in any, 
except at Tomgraney. I understand, that singular 
industry and research amongst musty records have 
been used to discover these tithes; if half as much 
had been used to improve the morals, and support 
the poor, aged, and infirm, how much more me- 
ritorious? However, the living, if I am not mis- 
informed, has by this means been raised from 80/. 
per annum to 2,000/. ; it is in the gift of Mr. Brady 
of Raheens. 

That the rates of tithe in this county are gene- 
rally far below what the clergyman is legally en- 
titled to, will not be denied ; and that tithe-proctors 
have frequently exacted more than the customary 
dues, is also equally certain, but still below a tenth, 
and in some instances they do not receive a twentieth. 
It has been a fashion lately to treat the clergy, 

and 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 189 

and of course tithe, with every degree of contempt ; 
it is a common table-talk before servants, and even 
to labourers in the field ; can we therefore wonder 
at the opposition it receives frOm the lower orders ? 
It must be confessed, that too many of the clergy 
of every persuasion are a disgrace to their order, 
and give too much occasion for this contempt. The 
non-residence of the clergy is also another cause of 
much odium, and very justly ; why should a clergy- 
man receive any emolument from those, on whom he 
confers no benefit? He perhaps lives in England, 
or in a distant part of Ireland, and is never heard of, 
but when his proctor comes into the country to set 
his tithes, that revenue, which, after providing com- 
fortably for the incumbent, was intended by the 
founders for the use of the pooiv 

I have often heard it asserted in this county, 
and elsewhere, that every sect should provide for 
their own clergy ; this might answer in some parts 
of the North, where the majority are Dissenters of 
different denominations, but in a county like this, 
where the disproportion between Catholics and Pro- 
testants is so very great, it would be impossible. I 
feel, how inadequate I am to discuss this difficult 
subject, and, I dare say, have said more than some 
hot spirits will like ; but the illiberal abuse I have 
heard poured out indiscriminately on the clergy con- 
vinces me, that a regard for religion did not, indeed 

could 



190 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

could not, dictate those violent and inflammatory 
discourses. It would appear but reasonable, that 
those landed proprietors, who have received such 
an unexpected addition to their rent-roll, tho^e 
extensive farmers, who have returned from every 
market with pockets full of money, or those mono- 
polizing graziers, who lead a life of indolence, and 
whose greatest exertions in agriculture consist in 
planting an acre or two of potatoes, and impove- 
rishing, like the poorest cottier, a few more by 
repeated corn crops, should refrain from such lan- 
guage ; had it proceeded from one of their cottiers, 
who paid three or four guineas for an acre of 
bad ground, and a cabin that he built himself \ 
four or five guineas for the grass of a cow, on 
the very worst jfert of his farm, and did not receive 
a rise in the price of his labour adequate to that 
of land, or of every necessary of life, we should 
not be surprised ; but from men, who have so un- 
expectedly jumped into large fortunes, more li- 
beral ideas might reasonably be expected. 

The most objectionable part of the tithe system 
is the vast tracts of rich ground under cattle, that 
pay nothing:* if the tithe laws were modified, and 

the 

* It is not generally known, that, fn 1735, a vote passed in Par- 
liament, that any lawyer, or any other person, who was concerned in 
the case of tithes for bullocks, should be declared an enemy to his 
country. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 191 

the fattening and grazing ground made to pay, that 
on the cottiers potatoes and flax might well be abo- 
lished, for it is a well known fact, that the herd 
of a thousand acres pays more tithe than his em- 
ployer. It is a common assertion, that twice the 
sum, under any other denomination, would be paid 
with pleasure ; if it is not the amount, that is objecti- 
onable, I fear it must be imputed to an aversion for a 
church establishment, and that it comes from a quarter. 
averse to all government: any of the lower orders, that 
I mentioned this to, declared their only objection was 
the oppressive mode, and not the sum. It is the 
opinion of many moderate clergymen, who wish to 
live with their flocks as they should do, and also 
of the best informed of the laity, that an acreable 
assessment, calculated from the average of the seven 
preceding years' tithe, and abolishing tithes for po- 
tatoes, flax, and every thing under an acre of corn, 
would not only leave the clergyman at liberty to 
attend to the duties of his function, free from those 
perpetual bickerings with his parishioners, but would 
also take the farmers out of the hands of tithe-proc- 
tors, whom they have frequently sufficient cause 
to dread ; and it would make those agricultural 
drones, the graziers, contribute their share, and not 
leave the burden on the shoulders of those, who 
earn their bread by active exertions. The mone\% 
collected for this purpose, might be paid into the 

hands 



J92 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

hands of the county treasurer, and at every assizes 
handed over to the clergyman free of all expence ; 
to make the income of the clergy keep pace with 
the value of produce, a septennial valuation by a 
jury, liable to the usual challenges, would easily 
fix the average ; or it would probably be less 
objectionable for the incumbent to choose one arbi- 
trator, and the farmer another, and, if these could 
not agree in their award, a third person might be 
called in. 

Another mode has been suggested ; that the tithes 
should be sold at a moderate valuation, and a fund 
established, which would not only provide amply 
for the clergy, but enable them to build glebe 
houses, and ease them of all anxiety about the 
things of this world ; they could not then have any 
just cause for non-residence, and the bishop would 
likewise have no excuse for neglecting to enforce 
it. This non-residence is a most monstrous abuse of 
the establishment, and may well give cause for the 
sarcasms so often levelled at it ; well may it be said, 
and justly, that it is merely the emolument they 
are anxious about ; this applies equally to the dig- 
nitaries of the church as to those possessing small 
livings. If clergymen or their proctors acted im- 
partially in valuing tithes, there would be much 
less cause for complaint ; but it is a glaring fact, 
that, in many instances, the gentleman pays much 

less 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. m 

less than the poor man ; it is equally well known, 
that combinations have been formed by men of 
fortune, (not gentlemen,) to hamper the incum- 
bent by giving notice to draw tithe, when they 
were certain he was unprepared. 

The total abolition of tit lies j without any pro* 
vision in lieu of them, is a favourite topic with a 
certain class of men* Supposing this to be ac- 
complished, it Would not ease the tenant in the 
least, as those declaiming landlords would imnie- 
d lately demand an encrease of rent, probably much 
more than the amount of the tithe: every person 
must know, that lands tithe-fide are always let higher 
than any other, and great care is taken in adver* 
tising such land to point this out. 

The greatest grievance of all is the impropriation 
of tithes, and the grossest abuse of a fund, that 
was originally intended for the use of the church, 
and for charitable purposes* It is well known> that 
these tithes are always more rigidly exacted than 
those in the hands of the clergy. One lay pro- 
prietor alone has upwards of \OQOL per annum $ 
and exacts a tenth of every thing. One clergy- 
man thinks, " that no more eligible mode than 
" tithes can be devised for the maintenance of tiie 
" clergy; they rise or fall in their value in pro- 
" portion to the population of the country, and. 
" the encrease or diminution of the value of money. 
2 c ".The 



194 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

<tf The clergy have by them a support depending 
" neither on the will of an administration nor the 
" caprice of the people, and to make any class 
" of men useful, the} T must be maintained in a res- 
" pectable manner. If the property of any one com- 
" ponent part of the nation could be constitutionally 
" infringed on, the abolition of tithes would be 
" succeeded by a proportional rise in rents, which 
(i would defeat the purpose intended. The great 
" grievance is the impropriation of tithes, which 
" deprives the church of the subsistence of a body 
" of clergy sufficient to effect a salutary change 
61 in the opinions and principles of an immoral and 
" irreligious peasantry." 

I have thus endeavoured to collect the opinions 
of a few of the clergy on this subject, (the laity 
had but one,) but found it considered by some as 
an improper one for my enquiries, The Rev. Mr. 
Whitty of Kilrush informed me, with a very saga- 
cious shrug of his shoulders, " that he could answer 
the greater part of my queries, but did not choose 
to do so; he considered the interference of the Dublin 
Society in such affairs as exceedingly impertinent, 
not to say worse ; what had they to do with tithes ? 
what was it to them, whether the clergyman resided 
or not?" (there's the rub,) and said much more, than 
I think proper to relate, against one of the most 
respectable and most useful societies in Europe, and 

concluded 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 195 

concluded with asking me had I read Dr. Duigenan's 
pamphlet ? That, he said, would open my eyes ; 
as I have never read the pamphlet, I cannot say what 
its effect might be ; probably it might open my eyes, 
but I doubt if it would open my heart. I next applied 
to this gentleman's son, who is rector of Tullagh ; 
he was desired by a Bishop of Killaloe not to an- 
swer any of the queries, as Dr. Duigenan had said 
an improper use had been made of the information 
given to some of the gentlemen appointed to make 
agricultural surveys. When I undertook the survey 
of this county, I was very sanguine in my expecta- 
tions of information from so learned a body of men, 
and who from their local knowledge are, or ought 
to be, well acquainted with those matters, for which 
I sought information, (and which are printed in the 
introduction to this volume,) as well as from their 
having a great portion of their time unoccupied j 
yet this, I lament to say, has been the result. 

When I first circulated my queries, I had verbal 
promises from many, of receiving u every information 
in their power," but, for what reason is best known 
to themselves, they all, except three gentlemen, de- 
clined giving me any written answers, and indeed 
very few verbal. At an early period I took the 
liberty of applying by letter to the Bishop of Kil- 
laloe, previous to a personal application, to request 
be would use his influence with his clergy to pro- 
2 c 2 cure 



196 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

cure the necessary information ; his Lordship in very 
polite terms declined interfering with them " at the 
instance of an individual.'" I next applied to Dr. 
Parker near-Killaloe, to whom I was referred by 
several gentlemen, as one of the best informed men 
in the county, but he, alas ! " was a perfect stranger 
" to all my queries, and besides, it would not allow 
" a person a moment to spare for his own private 
" affairs, or to act in his function as a clergyman, 
" to give you the answers you require." To the 
Rev. Mr. Martin of Killaloe J next made a personal 
application ; (a written one, which he never acknow- 
ledged, I had previously made;) he informed me, 
( standing in the street with all due submission and 
reverence,) that really his own affairs (he was draw- 
ing home his turf) took up so much of his time, 
he could give me no information ; I waited for him 
two days at a wretched inn at Killaloe, and called 
on him at nine o'clock in the morning, but, as I 
understood the clergy of that part of the diocese 
were not much in the habit of seeing company, I 
luckily had breakfasted, or I might have fasted 
till I reached Castle-Connel. In the year 1725 
Dr. Nicholson, Bishop of Derry, sent circular letters 
to his clergy ) for the purpose of obtaining a statistical 
account of the diocese, and receiveo! from the rector 
of Magilligan a full account of his parish, which is 
published in the 4 ntno ^ Hib. vol. 3, p. 116; but 

I suppose 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 197 

I suppose the good Bishop had other inducements, 
besides the request of an individual, and probably 
he would have thought, that the request of such a 
body as the Dublin Society, expressed through that 
individual however humble in life, would have me- 
rited a better fate. 

It has been suggested by some, that a liberal 
allowance in land, with a comfortable glebe-house 
and offices, is liable to fewer objections than any 
before proposed; if this mode was adopted, a re- 
striction from breaking up more than a certain quan- 
tity annually, and sowing grass-seeds, would be 
necessary; this would put him on a par with his 
parishioners, as his income would rise and fall with 
the value of produce, and that of land; it would 
prevent that constant wrangling, which too much 
prevails in some parishes, and which has gone so 
far as to induce an agreement amongst the land- 
holders to draw their tithe on the same day, not 
by an avowed combination, but by a hint, that 
was well understood. 

Mr. Ledwich, in his Epitome of the Antiquities 
of Ireland, says, that in the reign of King John 
the clergy did not receive any tithes; the venera- 
tion for the church at that time was so great, that 
regulations were unnecessary ; they were supported 
by oblations. The piety of modern times, I fear, 
would influence but very small collections. The 

whole 






19S STATISTICAL SURVEY 

whole ecclesiastical revenue to a late period was 
divided into four parts, one to the Bishop, one to 
the clergy, one to the poor, and one to support 
the church and other uses, and he says this mode 
exists at this day in the diocese of Clonfert. 

To throw as much light on this subject as pos- 
sible, I shall make a few extracts from Mr. Raw- 
son's admirable Survey of Kildare, lately published. 
In page 27 he mentions one tithe-dealer having 
exacted thirty shillings per acre for wheat ;* " the 
" dread of citation, and the loss of his straw, made 
" the timorous ploughman yield to any terms." 
Again, page 31, "It must appear evident to every 
" man, that the entire weight of the church estab- 
lishment falls on the sweat from the brow of in- 
" dustry, whilst the feeder of one thousand bul- 
" locks does not pay as much as the herdsman for 
" his garden. Can it be denied, but that the dread 
** of tithe keeps much land in pasture, which would 
" otherwise give bread to thousands, encrease po- 
" pulation twenty-fold, do away all necessity of 
" emigration, and make little Ireland not only a 
" granary to England, but to the whole world." 
In page 33, and which deserves peculiar attention, 
" The assertors, that the titles to tithes and to estates 

" are 

* I was informed lately, that one harpy attempted a few months 
ago to exact 26s. per acre in the disturbed part of the county of 
Mayo; I thought it much exaggerated at the time, and did not pay 
implicit confidence to it, but now I fear it is but too true. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 199 

if are of equal strength, should consider that, if 
" estates were to be let at undefined rents from year 
" to year, and the landlord at each harvest to view 
If the crops and exact some proportion in lieu 
<c of rent, would any occupier in such case be 
" anxious to till or improve ? Would not the 
*' kingdom soon become a dreary uninhabited waste? 
'.' Yet exactly such is the conduct towards the 
" tenth of the produce, the tithe. Let the land- 
<( holder be ascertained at what yearly rent he is 
"to pay for one and the other, and all complaint 
" is at an end." The scheme, which Mr. Rawson 
proposes to do away these hardships on the farmer, 
and I am sure on every christian clergyman, is as fol- 
lows : ci Let the average value of all livings, and lav 
" impropriations, be ascertained by the tithe-books, 
" &c. of the last seven years ; when so ascertained, 
" let the parishioners of every description be con- 
" vened in public vestry; let five intelligent men, 
" but not of the parish, be chosen to state the 
u value of each sub-denomination, and let the ave- 
" rage value of the living be apportioned in a corn 
" rent on each sub-denomination; as, suppose lot 
" No. 1. is assessed 15^. in its proportion of 500/., 
<c (supposed the average value of the living,) and that 
c< the middle price of wheat in Dublin market, 
66 during the preceding month of February, was thirty 
" shillings ; lot No. 1 , would then be assessed 

" with 



20a STATISTICAL SURVEY 

" with the annual payment of ten barrels of sound 
" fair marketable wheat, to be delivered to the 
" rector, kc. &c. at his dwelling, on every 25th 
" day of March in every year for ever ; giving a 
" discretionary power to the rector, &c. to decline 
" (by one month's previous notice) accepting of said 
" ten barrels of wheat, but that he will receive in 
"lieu thereof the sum of 22/. 155.; 2/. 5s. 6d. 
" having been the average middle price of wheat, 
*' during the previous month of February, in Dublin 
" market ; and in case of non-payment of said sum, 
** in the course of one month after such notice, 
*-* that then the rector shall be at liberty to pro- 
" ceed by action at law for the speedy recovery 
* c of said sum with costs, &c. &c." Again, " Should 
tc the foregoing scheme not meet with the appro- 
<c bation of their Reverences, something must be done 
" to quiet agitation, and allay all ferment ; the newly 
i4 adopted plan of charging by the barrel is what 
*' the farmer loudly complains of, and when ninety - 
* c nine out of an hundred feel severe pressure, it is 
" high time for a legislature to interfere. What 
" objection can there be to state by act of Par- 
*f liament the following rates, by which the tithe- 
'- owner would be paid, and the landholder con-' 
*' tented ? viz. 

" Wheat, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 201 

£. s. d. 
" Wheat, per acre, - 8 
" Bere and barley, - 8 

" Oats, - - - 6 

" Meadow, - - 5 

" Fleece, - - - 4 
" Lamb, - ' - - 4 
" And so in proportion for all titheable articles; 
" in such case, the tithe-owner and farmer only 
" need the survey of each crop." Had I not run 
this section to such a length already, I should 
have made many more extracts from this valuable 
publication. It has not, I believe, been generally ad- 
verted to, that in many cases the tithe is paid twice, 
for instance, the sheep and the hay they eat, &c. In 
an anonymous publication very lately printed, " An 
Enquiry into the History of Tithe," the author has 
gone very fully into the subject, and has proposed 
a scheme for the maintenance not only of the 
established church, but of the Protestant Dissenting 
and Roman Catholic clergymen. He advises, " that 
a return upon oath should be made by each Pro- 
testant clergyman of the produce of their tithes 
for the last three years; an average to be struck 
from each return : for this purpose a committee 
consisting of the archbishop or bishop residing in 
the county, custos rotulorum, representatives in Par- 
liament, assistant barrister, magistrates, one member 

2 i> from 



202 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

from every body corporate, who shall have lands 
in said county, and every gentleman, who had ever 
served the office of high sheriff, or at any time 
of his life been a grand juror: these qualifications 
will embrace the greatest part of the property 
and respectability of each county, and will con- 
sequently embrace the persons most interested in 
such survey, and most likely to act with upright- 
ness and impartiality. Such committee to be sum- 
moned by the sheriff to assemble at the grand jury 
room, eleven to constitute a quorum, the custos 
rotulorum or senior magistrate then present to be 
chairman, the clerk of the peace to act as secre- 
tary. Such committee and secretary to be sworn 
to execute the trust reposed in them to the best 
of their skill and judgment, and without favour, 
partiality, or affection. Such committee to have 
power to elect any persons not exceeding six in 
number, who, though not possessed of the qualifi- 
cations aforesaid, may be deemed from other con- 
siderations useful members of the committee. The 
formation of such committee and the duties imposed 
upon it will necessarily force its members into the 
investigation and consideration of subjects, which, 
notwithstanding their vital importance, have been 
too much neglected by them ; in fact our country 
gentlemen too universally give up their time before 
dinner to their stables, kennels, and the sports of 

the 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 203 

the field, and after dinner, whilst the bottle cir- 
culates, the conversation is in general solely occu- 
pied with these topics, interspersed with anecdotes 
not much calculated to improve their morals or 
their understanding." He next states the neces- 
sity of a survey of the county little different from 
that adopted by the Dublin Society. He states 
that, according to his calculation, 700,000/. will be 
fully adequate for the support of the clergy of 
the three persuasions, and for compensating the lay 
improprietors, supposing the rental of Ireland to 
be 15,000,000/.; if so, a tax of eleven pence in 
the pound only will be necessary. Glebes are to 
be purchased, and glebe-houses built, the remainder 
of the income to be received in cash. Any cler- 
gyman, who shall be absent from his glebe-house 
for more than sixty-one days (taken collectively) 
during any year, to forfeit his living, unless com- 
pelled by ill health to visit a more genial climate. 
The necessity, the indispensable necessity of these 
or similar provisions, for re-establishing the reign 
of religion in Ireland, is too obvious to be in- 
sisted on. 

" For the support of the Roman Catholic clergy it 
is proposed to divide Ireland into 1050 districts; 
each Catholic priest would then have a range of 
about five miles in diameter committed to his charge ; 
to be assisted in the more populous parts of Munster, 
2 D 2 Connaught, 



204 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Con naught, and Leinster with 300 curates ; also that 
the habitations of the parochial clergy shall be buils 
by presentment, and have twenty-five acres of ground 
attached to each of them. He proposes a change 
of titles from the present ones to that of Patriarch 
of Ireland, Exarch, Vice Provost, Provost, with a 
liberal allowance from 1600/. to 250/. according to 
their rank, all to be nominated by the crown ; the 
parochial clergy also to be nominated by the crown, 
but the Exarch or Provost, in whose district the 
vacancy may occur, to have a power of returning 
the names of those or more clergymen, one of whom 
it shall be obligatory on the crown to nominate 
to such vacancy." 

M For the support of the Presbyterian clergy, their 
incomes to be raised to 400/. the highest, and de- 
scending to 150/. the least, their colleagues to have 
75/." The pamphlet, from which I have taken the 
above extracts, contains 116 pages, and is highly 
deserving of attention ; I regret, that the limits of 
this work prevent a more copious extract from 
it on a subject of the utmost moment, and one, 
that has had its crisis hastened by avarice and 
pride. 



Sect. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 205 



Sect. 6. Use of beer and spirits, whether either or 
which is encreasing. 

There is a great decrease in the consumption 
of whiskey; the poorer classes have little to spare 
for drams, as the fortunate rise in the price puts 
them in a great measure out of their power ; I 
fear to this only is the change to be imputed, for, 
though there is no licenced distillery in the county, 
the private stills abound in every direction, but the 
price is not lowered to the consumer, the publican 
receiving the benefit of the rise in price. The 
abolition of the distilleries, except those of great 
magnitude, has been of no use to any person but 
the owners of private stills. In the year 1800 the 
consumption of spirits decreased astonishingly ; the 
price was above the reach of the generality, which 
in some measure weaned them from its use : this, 
with the high price for agricultural produce, enabled 
the small farmers to pay high rents, and to lay 
up guineas in some smoky corner \ but, as whiskey 
is now cheaper, and agricultural produce still high, 
the use of spirits is rather more frequent. A drunken 
gentleman is now happily a rarity, and the lower 
classes are nearly as soberly inclined. Fairs and 
markets are almost the only places, that drunken- 
ness prevails in, but it generally ends in a few 

broken 



206 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

broken heads, and often a little swearing before a 
magistrate ; matters are generally accommodated by 
the friends of the parties. 

The destruction of the distilleries had not the 
effect, that the legislature intended, but a quite^ 
contrary one ; for private stills are now more nu- 
merous than ever, and more whiskey is made than in 
the former distilleries. It has also almost ruined the 
revenue of the county, for in 1 80$, before this ill- 
advised abolition, it was upwards of 36,000/. ; there 
were five distilleries and two breweries ; the former 
have disappeared, and only one petty brewery re- 
mains, and, though there has been a great encrease 
of the stamp duty, window-tax, hearth-money, and 
other taxes, the present revenue is short of 10,000/. 

The beer or ale of this county is a most abo- 
minable compound, indeed not worse than the trash 
made in almost every part of Ireland ; it is asto- 
nishing how those of better rank can taste it, but 
habit will lower the palate down to any standard 
of depravity ; happily the brewers are gradually 
receiving their just punishment, in the encreasing 
use of water at table in preference to their poi- 
sonous mixtures. It is not a little surprizing that, 
some one honest brewer does not break through 
this combination against the health of the public, 
and brew, as formerly, pale ale with hops and mak 
alone ; but they have been so long used to drugs 

I suppose 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 207 

I suppose they have lost the art: if such a man 
could be found, an ample fortune would attend 
him. It is very extraordinary, that those, who are 
fond of good and wholesome beer, do not brew 
for themselves, for, independent of having a whole- 
some beverage, they would have what is very dif- 
ficult to be procured, good barm, which, as every 
family must bake, becomes a matter of no small 
moment; from want of this indispensable ingredient, 
heavy unwholesome bread may frequently be seen 
at the tables of the rich, though, where it can be 
procured, the bread of this county is generally ex- 
cellent. Potatoe-barm is very much used, but from 
frequent mistakes in the process it often fails. The 
following receipt has been given to me by a lady, 
who has constantly used it with great success. Add 
flour to beer until of the consistence of batter, to 
a quart of this put a table-spoon-full of good brown 
sugar, set it in a warm place, but not near the fire, 
shake it twice a day ; it will be fit for use in eight 
days. 

Sect. 7. State of roads, bridges, Kc. S(c. 

This is a subject, on which I dare scarcely trust 
my pen; I had frequently he?^d, before I came into 
the county, that many abuses existed in the ma- 
nagement of roads, and that, as in every other 

public 



208 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

public work, jobbing was practised, but I consi- 
dered such information as somewhat exaggerated} 
but, since I have been an eye-witness to the num- 
berless abuses, that present themselves in every part 
of the county, I do not hesitate to declare, that the 
most barefaced and infamous system of road-jobbing 
prevails in every barony. What are we to think, 
when it is well known, that three presentments have 
been obtained for the same number of perches of 
road, but in different perjured names : that it is a 
common and well known agreement between land- 
lord and tenant, that a higher rent shall be paid 
for a farm on account of using influence to obtain 
presentments at an exorbitant rate for the tenant : 
that roads are frequently made, where they are 
entirely useless, merely to throw money into the 
pocket of some poor relation, favourite, or person, 
to whom debts were due ? It will scarcely be 
credited, but not the less true, that a grand juror 
asked, and was actually paid 30/. for using his in- 
fluence in procuring a presentment. A friend of mine 
was present, when a poor tenant offered a very 
high rent for a small farm, " because he knew his 
honour would get him a bit of a presentment every 
year;" and his honour* promised to do so. 

In accounting for presentments the most bare- 
faced 

* There is no part of Ireland, where this poor word is more 
prostituted. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 209 

iaced perjury is well known to be used ; new roads, 
that have a small quantity of earth or bog thrown 
up from the ditch on either side, and covered with 
an inch or two of clay, which they have the assur- 
ance to call gravel or sand, are always sworn to 
be faithfully and honestly executed. Frequently 
an affidavit is made, that a road is made with small 
stones and gravel ; the small stones are as large as a 
man's head, and the gravel is a whitish clay; they 
swear, that a sufficient passage is left for the water 
on each side of the road, yet frequently it is co-r 
vered with it, and impassable. The most shocking 
perjuries are used in the affidavit to obtain the pre- 
sentment ; two credible persons swear, that a certain 
sum per perch is the least it can be effectually exe- 
cuted for, whilst they well know, that half the money 
would be more than sufficient. I have scarcely seen 
any road, that could not be repaired and effectually 
gravelled for 4s. 4d. per perch, fourteen feet wide, 
and allowing the gravel -pit to be half a mile from 
the road ; yet many receive for the most ill-con- 
trived roads covered with clay, thrown out of the 
gripe on each side, upwards of 5s. 5d. per perch, 
and sworn to. It is a well-known fact, that am*- 
davits for presentments are often signed by ma- 
gistrates without having been sworn, and some gen- 
tlemen would reckon themselves ill-used, if they 

2 e were 



210 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

were asked to swear, and probably a message 
might be the consequence.* 

A few days before the assizes in August 1806, 
I saw a road mending with six or eip-ht inches of 
absolute clay, laid on at once, in which my horse 
sunk almost to his knees, yet the overseer swore 
it was repaired with gravel or small stones, and 
the tender-hearted conservator repeated the same. 
I have seen in the barony of Inchiquin a moun- 
tain road, that was sworn to be made with gravel 
or small stones &c, and for which the contractor, 
a gentleman, received 5s. 5d. per perch ; my readers 
(of any other county) will be astonished, when I 
inform them, that this road was contracted for by 
him with his tenants at is. 6d. per perch, and the 
remainder pocketed by this conscientious gentleman ; 
the trench on either side of this road consisting of 
bog was thrown on the centre, and over this a thin 
covering of soft slate dug up on either side under* 
the bog, and through which I could not pass in 
summer, nor was the part', that was finished, of the 
smallest use, except to his own tenants for drawing 
home their turf, as but a small portion of the in- 
tended line was executed. Very frequently a new 

road 

* If the judges of assize would insist on all overseers and others 
concerned in public works taking their oath in open eourt, it would 
be a means of preventing many horrid perjuries; for it is a dis- 
graceful fact, that many gentlemen would give their honour in a lie, 
that would shrink from an oath, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 211 

road is made at both ends, and remains unfinished 
in the middle for many years, though sworn to be 
passable from one town to another, and the money 
pocketed. 

An act of parliament of the present reign gives 
a power to grand juries to appoint a conservator 
to each barony or half barony, with a salary of 
50/. per annum. It may be necessary to state the 
duties of the office to shew, that it is impossible 
any grand jury, consistently with their oath or 
honesty, could retain them a moment, when it can 
be proved by ocular demonstration, that they have 
neglected every part of their duty ; I regret to have 
to state this very culpable neglect, not to say worse 
of grand juries. 

The act states, that his salary shall not be paid 
until he shall have laid, upon oath before the grand 
jwy, in a book to be kept for that purpose, a full 
and exact account of his proceedings, stating when 
and how often he inspected each road within his 
district ; what nuisances, encroachments, or breaches 
of the act he observed ; what remedies he took to 
remove or punish for the same; what magistates 
he applied to ; what warrants he received, and what 
fines he levied ; and whether any and what nuisances, 
ditches, walls, or houses have been made or built, 
or pits dug en any road or nearer to the centre 
than this act permits ; and in general a true and 
2 E 2 perfect 



212 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

perfect state of the roads, bridges, and all other 
works, and matters thereon erected, &c. &c. &,c. 
Now how is this explicit and solemn promise on 
oath fulfilled ? In the first place, no such book is 
kept oy the conservator ; if there were, the leaves 
would be unsullied, nor are any questions asked by 
the grand jury; as to nuisances, encroachments on 
the roads are permitted by both magistrates and 
conservators ; and whilst Meath and other counties 
are paying large sums annually to fill in ditches, 
our conservators permit new ones to be made, 
sometimes ten feet broad, and as many deep on 
each side of the road. At the village of Mylaan, 
in the parish of Cloney, to the southward of 
O'Brien's castle, the road is cut away on each side 
so much, that scarcely six feet of it remain. Large 
stones rolling about the road are overlooked ; turf- 
stacks and dunghills are permitted to be made close 
to the read ; bridges and gullets are suffered to remain 
with dangerous holes for many months ; no magis- 
trate is ever applied to; no warrants or fines are ever 
looked for or levied; yet will it be credited, that 
at every assizes the conservator does, or ought to 
swear, that he does his duty, and, unless neglected 
by the contractor, swears that every present- 
ment is honestly executed ? Is there no spark of 
honour or even pride in the gentlemen of this 
county, that permit this stain on their character ? 

I cannot 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 213 

I cannot therefore hesitate to declare, that I reckon 
conservators as the greatest nuisance in the county. 
There may be some exceptions to this character, 
I hope there are; but I confess I have not been 
fortunate enough to perceive any. 

The experiment has been tried in the county 
of Galway, and they were, found so much worse 
than useless, that they have been laid aside. It 
will be seen by their oath, that, if they made an 
honest use of their power, they would be a bles- 
sing to the county, and their salary would be 
totally inadequate to the arduous duties of their 
office; but, were the present set to receive any 
addition, it would not make them in the least more 
attentive. Men of a rank in life much above the 
present men, and totally unconnected with the 
county, must be appointed, before any beneficial 
purpose can be effected. To make this useful, 
(at the same time it would be a great saving to 
the county,) 200/. per annum would be but a mo- 
derate allowance for each barony. The conservator 
should be perfectly well acquainted with the use of 
a spirit level, and , the most approved method of 
laying out and making roads, and rendered totally 
independent of the grand jury in laying out new 
lines of road. The act of parliament, which enacts 
that every road shall be finished two days previous 
to the assizes, is very ill-judged ; each road should 

be 



214 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

be finished at least one month before the assizes, by 
which means the conservator, if inclined to do his 
duty, would have time to inspect every road, and the 
gentlemen of the neighbourhood, when they grow 
ashamed of jobbing, could speak as to the manner, 
in which it is performed, as the road by that time 
would expose any defects in the execution ; but at 
present, as so many roads are only finished two 
days before the assizes, the conservator must have 
wings to enable him to inspect them all, as some 
baronies are upwards of twenty miles long and ten 
broad, yet he swears boldly to the just expenditure 
of the money for each road. Conservators cannot 
be contractors for roads, yet it is well known they 
all are, but in other names. 

Contractors for roads are great losers by employing 
cars instead of wheelbarrows, where the distance is 
short; and as the greater part of the roads of 
this county are made of the clay (impudently called 
gravel or sand) thrown out on each side of the road, 
wheelbarrows would be cheaper than cars. High 
hedges are permitted in many places to spoil the 
road; near O'Brien's castle, and near Fountain, 
there is scarcely room left for a carriage to pass. 
Part of the road between Kilnorney church and 
Tomgraney is paved with large stones, not unlike 
the vile roads of the county of Wexford. 

Some 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 215 

Some roads near Tullagh are repaired with spar 
from a lead mine, which makes an excellent material. 

The road between Bunratty and Ralehine, the 
hill road, is particularly badly made with very 
large stones, sharp as broken glass bottles, without 
any covering, of even clay — a most shameful job! 
Large sums have been expended, indeed thrown 
away, on lowering hills in various places; half the 
money, that has been laid out for this childish whim 
at Fountain, which still remains a difficult, steep, 
dirty, bad road, would have carried it on a level; 
but alas ! it would have run through Mr. Daxon's 
ground : some of the wags of Ennis, with whom 
it abounds, call this Annuity kill, as for many years 
back money has been granted for lowering it. 

At an assizes at Ennis, the payment of a con- 
servator's salary had been stopped by the judge ; 
yet at the next assizes it was smuggled in, and 
granted by a judge ignorant of the former act of 
justice. 

Disagreeable as it may sound in the ears of 
country gentlemen, I am perfectly convinced, (and 
do not the foregoing facts corroborate it?) that 
they are in general the most improper persons to 
ascertain the lines of new roads, that would be most 
proper for the public benefit ; self is always so much 
consulted, that every influence is used to obtain the 
road in the line most convenient to them, totally 

regardless 



216 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

regardless of the general benefit. I have seen too 
many instances of this meanness to be mistaken. 
New roads are almost always laid out by those 
totally ignorant of the subject. I cannot conceive, 
Low it is possible any person can mark out a road 
of several miles, where he has to carry it on a 
level, and round distant hills, without the assistance 
of a spirit level ; yet roads are attempted to be 
made by those, who, so far from knowing the 
use of one, do not know its name. I shall relate 
a conversation I overheard, to shew how these things 
ure usually conducted : the road was intended to 
be brought on a level for several miles, to prevent 
the necessity of ascending hills and dipping into 
deep vallies; the person, whose name was inserted 
in the presentment, employed another to superintend 
the work, and who was to receive all the profits. 
Q. Paddy did you mark out, where the new road 
is to run ? A. Oh yes Sir, but Biddy Mullowney 
says she will cleave my skull, if I bring it through 
her ground; so I turned it up against the hill. 
Q. Well there is no help for it, it's, no great matter, 
but where do you go after that? A. To yonder 
hill, but I don't know, which side is best. (This 
hill was half a mile off, and through ground so 
exceedingly undulating, that it would have puzzled 
even the experienced eye of Major Taylor.) Q, Well 
you can mark, which side you think there will be 

the 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 217 

the least cutting on, and go on with the rest until 
I see you next week."-— Thus was this road to be 
laid out, without even sights, by an ignorant la- 
bourer, liable to be influenced either by threats or 
bribes. In my Observations on the County of Dub- 
lin Survey, page 138, I have expressed my thoughts 
on this subject in the following words : " When a 
U- better system of road-making is established, the 
M enormous waste of the public money, that has 
" taken place, will be truly astonishing ; and I am 
" convinced, until a National Board of roads is 
" established, we never can expect matters to mend ; 
" for then the grand cause, grand jury jobbing, 
" will cease, and the conduct be thrown into the 
" hands of scientific and practical road-makers."* 

Every thing I have witnessed in this county has 
tended to confirm me in this opinion still more 
strongly. 

A few public-spirited and honest grand jurors 
have attempted to stem this torrent of peculation, 
but the consequence has been, that they have been 
threatened with an opposition to every thing they 
proposed, and the disgraceful expedient was resorted 
to, of polling every thing they asked for. One 
gentleman returned the overplus of a presentment ; 
2 f he 

* I would not have given this extract, but that the book I allude 
to is in the hands of very few; and county of Clare gentlemen are 
not much in the habit of reading. 



2is STATISTICAL SURVEY 

he was laughed at by his brother jurors; such is 
the morality of the county of Clare ! 



Are in general in tolerable repair. Some of those 
on the rivers, that run into the Shannon and Fergus, 
are not built sufficiently high to admit flood-water 
at spring tides, and are usually made too near the 
Shannon. Pipes or gullets are usually very badly- 
made, and highly dangerous, many remaining half 
open, unnoticed by conservators, and daily passed 
over by magistrates with unconcern, though they 
have a power of levying any sum under forty shillings 
for any sudden failure. I have seen many, that 
would not have required five shillings to repair if 
taken in time; but then, if this was done, there 
would not be a presentment got at the next assizes, 
of course a job would be lost. 

A bridge near the old church of Dvsart is in a 
ruinous way. A new bridge a few perches to the 
southward of the last bridge is very badly built; 
it should be re-presented, and the contractor fined. 
Thomas Studdert, Esq. of Bunratty castle, has built 
at his own expence a very handsome bridge of 
one arch over the river Ougarnee ; it cost 2000/. ; 
the toll is 6d. for a carriage, and Id. for a horse. 
Mr. D'Esterre has also formerly built a bridge higher 

U P 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 219 

up the river at his own expence, for which he 
receives a small toll. The enlargement of the bridge 
of Carrickvicburne, near Tally O'Dea, has been a 
most shameful job. There are three arches and two 
pipes, which altogether leave a water-way of about 
twenty-eight feet, (and little enough for the water 
of Lough Tedane, to which it is the outlet;) but 
this, by a most shameful neglect of the magistrates, 
has been contracted to ten feet by two miserable 
eel-weirs. The presentment set forth, that on wi- 
dening the bridge these eel- weirs should be removed, 
and a bed of rock, that runs across the river, and 
helped to keep back flood-water on the lough, 
should be used in building the bridge : but how 
has this been complied with ? The bed of rocks 
remains untouched, though very fine building stone ; 
and, so far from the eel-weirs having been removed, 
the small stones and rubbish of the building have been 
thrown into the eel-weirs, and the water kept higher 
in the lough than it was ever remembered before, 
and the adjacent meadows and turf-bog completely 
inundated ; yet the contractor swore to the just 
expenditure, and was paid, instead of which an 
indictment should have been preferred against 
him. 

2 f 2 Sect. 



220 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



Sect. 8. Navigations and navigable rivers. 



The Shannon, which divides this county from 
those of Limerick, Tipperary, and Kerry, and the 
Fergus, which is navigable at high water to Clare, 
are the only navigable rivers. Until lately the na- 
vigation of the Shannon was incomplete, but by 
the exertions of the Board of Inland Navigation, 
aided most ably by Mr. Brownrigg, the difficulties 
at Killaloe have been overcome, and now the com- 
munication not only from Dublin to Limerick, a 
distance of upwards of ninety miles, is completed, 
but also to the sea, which is sixty miles more. The 
navigation of this river to the sea is perfectly safe, 
and vessels of 400 tons can come up to the quay 
of Limerick. A proposal was made some time since 
to cut a canal from Poolanishary harbour, about 
twelve miles from Loophead, across the bog to 
Dunbeg; this, as the ground is soft and the distance 
only six miles, could be easily accomplished, and, 
if for no other purpose, would be highly useful for 
carrying limestone to improve the bogs ; but whether 
the idea of uniting the Atlantic to the Shannon in 
this direction, by a cut large enough for vessels of 
300 or 400 tons, as proposed, would be adviseable, I 
am not competent to say ; if practicable, it would save 
the sometimes tedious and dangerous passage round 

Loophead : 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 22i 

Loopbead: possibly the Atlantic ocean would be 
a dangerous sea to meddle with, as Dunbeg har- 
bour is by no means a safe one ; it is, however, 
the only one between Loophead and the bay of 
Galway, a distance of upwards of forty miles, ex- 
cept Liscanor bay, which with its present very 
useless quay cannot be depended on for any thing 
but fishing-boats. 

Another line has been proposed from Skarriff 
bay, and, running through Lough Graney, to com- 
municate with the bay of Galway; how far prac- 
ticable it would be, I am not able to judge. Th$ 
numerous lakes and rivers in this line would pro- 
bably afford a very sufficient supply, and as some 
run to the Shannon, and others to the bay of Gal- 
way, I should imagine a good summit level could 
be obtained : whether the probable trade on this 
line would make a sufficient return, is another ques- 
tion. Some gentlemen, whose estates are contiguous 
to this line, are very sanguine about its practica- 
bility, but too many think, if they only see water, 
that a canal can be made. One of the most useful 
articles, that could be carried on this line, would 
be lime, which abounds at Skarriff at one end, and 
in the county of Galway at the other; the inter- 
mediate country by this means could be highly 
improved, and only wants lime to make it produce 
abundant crops of corn. 
. • . I saw 



m STATISTICAL SURVEY 

I saw at Killaloe a striking instance of the vast 
superiority of water carriage over that by land, 
one man tracking a vessel with upwards of thirty 
tons of goods ; he told me he was not allowed a 
horse, except the wind was adverse ; this by the 
bye must be a wretched economy. 

The walls of the canal between the entrance from 
the Shannon and Killaloe are most wretchedly built 
of water-worn paving stones, and in the most un- 
substantial manner, resting against a gravelly bank ; 
consequently they and the gravel are constantly 
falling in, and choaking the canal, which must be 
dragged by boats with seven men in each. It seems 
to be the general opinion in Killaloe, that the canal 
has been cut in the most improper direction ; they 
think it should have been brought in a valley between 
Killaloe and Dr. Parker's, and to the north of the 
Bishop's house, and not parallel to the Shannon as 
at present. Bishop Bernard offered several thousand 
pounds, if this line had been pursued; for, instead 
of cutting his demesne off from the Shannon, as at 
present it does, it would have gone at the back 
of his house; if this was the only objection, I think 
the engineer acted very impartially, as all public 
officers should, but very seldom do. 

It would seem almost unnecessary at this enlight- 
ened period to make any remarks on the superi- 
ority of water carriage; but, as the majority of the 

gentlemen 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 223 

gentlemen of the county seldom read any thing 
but the newspapers, it may be useful to state this 
superiority. One horse can with ease draw a boat 
containing sixty tons as far in a day (about twelve 
miles) as the same horse would draw on land half 
a ton. Now, allowing three men to the boat, it 
will carry as much goods as 120 horses and forty 
men, allowing one man to drive three horses— the 
expence per annum for every twelve miles by 
water carriage will be 110/., whilst that of the 120 
horses and forty men, for the same distance, will 
amount to 3320/.* This is worth the serious attention 
of the landed proprietors, for it is highly probable, 
that at no very remote period grazing and tillage 
will be more united than at present ; for nothing, 
but the grossest ignorance and prejudice, will main- 
tain, that they cannot be conducted more profitably 
on the same land, when judiciously blended, than 
according to the present indolent grazing system 
alone : did the graziers read a little more, and see 
; and know, what is going forward in the agricul- 
tural world, they would learn that, by the improved 
practices of England, more cattle are fattened on 
the same quantity of land, when united to tillage, 
than the same land formerly fattened, when under 

cattle 

* In the Survey of Kildare it is stated, that an acre of potatoe- 
land can be well manured at Atby for 10/., a distance of forty-on? 
miles from Dublin. 



22* 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



cattle alone ; they would then perceive the benefit 
of having green food for their stock in winter and 
spring, and the superiority of alternate green and 
white crops over their present wretched mode of 
running the ground out by repeated corn crops ; 
it would also enable them, when there was a very 
low price for cattle at Cork or Limerick, to hold 
them over and keep the market at a steady uni- 
form rate. Many, I dare say, will be ignorant 
enough to call this book-farming •, the opinion of 
such boobies is not worth noticing. The intro- 
duction of turnips and clover was once called book- 
farming, and, I dare say, Mr. Muir's feeding, to a 
state of great fatness, 500 head of cattle in the 
house in summer, by the cutting of one scythe, will 
be also called book-grazing ; so will every practice 
not derived from their great grandfathers. To shew, 
how little interest some of these gentlemen take in 
the improvement of cattle, it is a certain fact, that 
many of them return from the fair of Ballinasloe 
in October, without having been once in the Farming 
Society's yard to view the stock exhibited at their 
shew ; I have even known some of them, that seemed 
to exult, when they came home, " that they had 
" not been to see such mummery; truly they had 
" better cattle at home:" but I have done; it is a 
disgusting subject. 

Nothing 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 225 

Nothing can possibly be worse made than the 
embankments along the Shannon and Fergus to keep 
out flood-water j I do not recollect to have seen 
one tolerably well made ; they must have been con- 
ducted by persons totally ignorant of such works; 
they are not calculated to resist floods in spring 
tides for any length of time, and, as no proper per- 
son is appointed (paid by a general assessment of the 
proprietors) to superintend them, it often happens, 
that, from the indolence or ignorance of one pro- 
prietor, the property of many others is greatly 
injured ; when a breach is made, it is so badly re- 
paired, that it probably stands but a very short 
time. 



2 G TABLE 



226 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



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Sect. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 227 



Sect. 9. State of fisheries. 

There is not more fish caught than what sup- 
plies the markets of Limerick, Kilrush, Miltown, 
and the southern and western parts of the county ; 
the northern and eastern parts being mostly sup- 
plied from Galway. Though the numerous bavs 
and creeks from Loophead to Kilrush are admirably 
well adapted for the fitting out and safe lying of 
fishing-boats, yet, from the poverty and laziness 
of those, who are capable of pursuing the fishing 
business, it is not carried on with the spirit, that 
such undertakings require. In the herring season 
upwards of 200 boats, sometimes not more than half 
that number, are fitted out at Kilrush, Carrigaholt, 
Querin, and other creeks; as the fishery is uncertain, 
a bad season completely ruins those poor men, who 
have expended their all upon the boats and fishing 
apparatus. If, on the contrary, some person or com- 
pany of property would embark in this business, 
and who had sufficient authority to make other 
fishermen comply with regulations, that would be 
mutually beneficial, there could be little doubt of a 
profitable return. That such bye-laws are wanting 
it is necessary to state, that at present, from want 
of some person of respectability and authority, they 
usually elect the oldest boatman admiral, and the 
2 c 2 next 



■228 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

next in seniority vice-admiral for the season ; but 
neither of these has sufficient power to enforce 
the laws or regulations, which they have agreed 
to obey for the general good of all the fishermen. 
It is generally considered by the fishermen, that, 
if the herrings are disturbed for a few da\-s after 
the shoal has come into the Shannon, they will retire 
from it ; yet, though they are persuaded of this, they 
generally attempt to steal out at night on the first 
appearance of the shoal of herrings; this being ob- 
served by others, they steal out one after the other, 
until all the boats are out, and, whether from this 
or some other cause, they frequently return without 
a single herring, loading each other with curses 
for having broken this agreement, which they think 
of so much importance. They are generally so 
cowardly, that, though the Gal way fishing, smacks 
come above fifty miles, and fish outside of the light- 
house, not one of these w r ould venture within five 
miles of the Shannon's mouth. It is generally 
thought, that a very productive turbot fishery might 
be carried on in the mouth of the Shannon, yet 
no exertions are made; few, if any, of the fish- 
ermen being able to expend fifteen or twenty guineas 
for a trawl. Frequently for several months the inha- 
bitants on the coast are almost without any kind of 
fish, sometimes owing to boisterous weather, and 
often to the more profitable and agreeable employ- 
ment 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 229 

merit of carrying goods ashore from smuggling 
vessels. 

No part of Ireland, or indeed of any other country, 
is so well situated for carrying on a lucrative fishery; 
bujt, as only the weak and small fish keep near the 
shore, it must be mere peddling, until companies are 
formed, that will be able to fit out vessels large 
enough to navigate the sea as far as the banks 
of Newfoundland. It is well known, that myriads 
of fine fish frequent the great bank, that stretches 
nearly from the coast of Galwaj' in an oblique dU 
rection to Newfoundland, from twenty to thirty 
fathoms beneath the surface of the water, and of 
various breadths, from fifty to one hundred miles 
or more, extending: from lat. 53° N. long. 10° 10 
of London, to lat. 45° and long. 53° W. The 
Danes carried on a most lucrative trade in this fishery 
with the south of Europe in the ninth and tenth cen- 
turies, and furnished Ireland and other countries 
with wine and other southern produce. 

The French have had at some periods upwards 
of 500 sail in this trade. The English having ex» 
plored only the western banks, the middle remains 
almost unknown, though it is highly probable it 
would be much more likely to afford large quan- 
tities of fish ; for the whales, which used formerly 
to proceed from the eastern coasts of Greenland 
towards Newfoundland, and the coast of New Eng- 
land, 



230 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

land, have been banished by the Americans,, and 
now make their way across the great bank, some- 
where about lat; 50° and between 30° and 40° of 
W. longitude, passing off the western coasts of the 
Azores, Ascension, and St. Helena, towards the 
southern frozen regions, where they are caught by 
the southern whale fishers, who follow them from 
England and America; how much more advan- 
tageous therefore would it be to intercept them on 
the great bank, before they were exhausted by the 
length of the voyage ? The western coasts of Ireland 
are particularly convenient for such a trade, as not 
only whales, but every other species of fish from 
the northern regions, might be obtained in the 
greatest quantity and of the best quality : it is 
computed, that upwards of 2000 vessels might be 
easily loaded in a season. To accomplish this, a 
company with a large capital must be formed, and 
there is every probability, that no speculation could 
be more profitable to the subscribers ; and to the 
landed proprietors it must be highly advantageous, 
as the improvement of land and consumption of 
produce would necessarily keep pace with the 
prosperity of the fishing company, not only from 
the consumption of the fishermen, but from the 
number of boat- builders, coopers, salt-makers, sail 
and rope-makers, &c. &,c. and their families, which 
must necessarily be employed. As a nursery for the 

best 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 231 

best kind of seamen to a maritime nation, whose 
existence depends almost entirely on her navy, the 
advantage must be incalculable. 

The boats in general use are such as have been 
used from the remotest period of history, wicker- 
work covered with either horse or cow hides; they 
are the only kind, that could live a moment in the 
violent surf, that generally beats on this shore : it 
is astonishing, what a sea they will venture to en- 
counter, one, where a ship's boat would imme- 
diately founder, but these boats mount with every 
wave. It is nothing uncommon for a man to put 
his foot through the skin, when much worn ; if he 
has nothing at hand to cram into the hole, he must 
keep his leg- there until he reaches the shore, but 
frequently he takes off his wig, which answers the 
purpose ; these accidents happen so often, that he 
is seldom at a loss and as little concerned. The 
small boats, generally used on the Shannon, are about 
thirty feet long, and only about three feet broad, 
flat-bottomed, and cost about four guineas; many 
are much smaller, for attending the weirs and for* 
angling, and some much larger; it is astonishing 
to see the number of people, that these unsteady 
boats will carry across the Shannon at Castie- 
Connel, and other places, even in rapids, where 
one would think such narrow boats would be over- 
set; 



23J STATfSTICAL SURVEY 

set; yet they are managed so skilfully, that few 
accidents ever happen. 

Oysters are taken on various parts of the coast : 
those taken at Pouldoody in the bay of Gal way 
have long had a high reputation for flavour, but 
lately, from want of stocking the bed, they have 
become scarce. There are many other places on 
the coast of this bay, where oysters are found, and 
some tolerably good, but still greatly inferior to 
*he Pouldoody. Inferior sorts are sold by the 
nawkers all through this and the neighbouring coun- 
ties under this denomination, and the citizens of 
Dublin are often gulled by fellows crying " Burrin 
oysters, fine Pouldoody oysters," which I have seen 
them buying from oyster-boats at George's-quay, 
the smallest being picked out for this purpose. 
Oysters are taken up on the coast of the Shannon, 
particularly at Querin and Poulanishary ; the beds 
are small, but the oysters good ; they almost all are 
sent to Limerick. What are sold at home are usually 
for a shilling per hundred ; formerly they were to be 
had for 4d. or oil. 

Crabs and lobsters are caught in great plenty on 
the shores of the bay of Gal way in every creek from 
Blackhead to Ardfry, and are generally sold at a 
very reasonable price ; those, which in Dublin market 
Mrs. O'Brien would charge seven or eight shillings 

for, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 233 

for, may be often had here for 6d., sometimes 
Jess. They are also to be had on the shore of the 
Atlantic, from Blackhead to Loophead, but are not 
caught in any great quantity. Crabs at Liscanor are 
reckoned very indifferent, but the lobsters good; 
whilst at Miltown-Malbay the crabs are excellent 
and the lobsters very middling. 

The salmon fishery of the Shannon is very considera- 
ble ; and a few are taken in all the rivers, that commu- 
nicate with it or the sea. That of Limerick was for- 
merly much more abundant than at present, owing in a 
good measure to the illegal practice of destroying the 
fish at night by lights in Adair and other rivers 
in the spawning season, and also to the very ge- 
neral practice of watering flax in the Shannon, in 
full view of tbe magistrates of Killaloe, and in 
violation of an act of parliament against such 
practices. 

Eels form another very material article of con- 
sumption ; they abound in every river and rivulet ; 
it would be a very desirable thing, if they could 
be caught without obstructing the passage of the 
water, as eel-weirs are the chief cause of very great 
damage to lands on the banks of rivers ; I mean 
those chiefly, that are built of stone with a narrow 
mouth,* for, if they are constructed with wattles 
like those on the Shannon, the mischief is by no 
means so great, because the water finds a passage 
2 H through 



234 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

through them. An eel-weir, that sets for perhaps 
101. a year, frequently is the cause of damage to 
land worth upwards of 1000/. a year, often much 
more; yet the proprietors of the land, thus injured, 
have not the spirit to bring it before a jury : for 
I think it is highly probable, that it is illegal to 
erect any other than those with wattles, at least 
it ought to be so. 

At Liscanor bay a considerable quantity of small 
turbot is sometimes caught, and generally sold at a 
reasonable price ; at least it appears so to a person, 
who has lived in Dublin ; but the banks, that pro- 
duce the large fish, are too far from shore to permit 
the small boats in use for this purpose to avail 
themselves of it ; nor do even the fishermen of Gal- 
way or Kilrush, who have boats able to stand the 
sea, take advantage of this blessing ; they are a 
cowardly set. 

Fine mullet and bass are sometimes caught at 
the mouth of some rivers, and bass are often bought 
by the inhabitants for mullet, but are greatly inferior. 
Many kinds of flat fish, with mackarel, herrings, 
whitings, &c. in their proper season are caught in 
abundance, and are a great relief to the poor of 
Limerick and other towns. 

SecTi 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 235 



Sect. 10. State of education — schools, and charitable 
institutions. 

Though schools abound in this county, yet, with 
the exception of those highly respectable ones of 
Ennis and Killaloe, the state of education is at a 
very low ebb indeed. The common country schools 
have generally from twenty to one hundred scholars 
each, boys and girls mixt together, but are badly 
attended in winter, as they are usually kept in small 
damp cabins, or in the Roman Catholic chapels, 
(to the disgrace of the priest and his flock,) equally 
damp and dirty. It may be justly imagined no 
respectable man would suffer the hardships the mas- 
ters do, when the remuneration is so very inade- 
quate to a task so very irksome. The prices for 
education in some places are very different from 
those in others; some receive 6s. per annum foe 
teaching to read, write, and the common rules of 
arithmetic ; for reading and spelling only 4s. ; 
low as these prices are, and established at a period, 
when the value of money was much higher than 
at present, yet custom has so firmly established it 
in the minds of the parents, that any attempt to 
raise it would be probably accompanied with the with- 
drawing of the pupil from school, and even this pit- 
tance is very badly paid ; sometimes a trifling ad- 
2 h 2 dition 



236 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

dition is made to the master's little income, by 
drawing examinations, bail-bonds, petitions, sum- 
monses, &c. &c. As the cold and damp situations 
of country schools generally drive the children 
home in winter, the master during this season goes 
from house to house, and teaches the children for his 
diet ; the Irish peasants partaking in common with 
the higher classes this peculiarity, that they would 
rather give five shillings worth of eatables than 
one in cash. It often happens that, from want of 
employment, some masters are under the necessity 
of employing themselves in manual labour for a 
subsistence. The distance being sometimes great 
between the master and children, he is obliged to 
neglect some in winter, and they often forget in 
that period what they had learned the previous 
summer. The state of education may be easily 
appreciated, when it is known that, with the ex- 
ception of a few universal spelling-books, the ge- 
neral cottage classics are the 
History of the seven Champions of Christendom. 

— i Montelion, Knight of the Oracle. 

. . Parismus and Parismenes. 

Irish Rogues and Rapparees. 

Freney, a notorious robber, teaching 

them the most dexterous mode of robbing. 

rfui, , the most celebrated pirates. 

. Jack the Bachelor, a noted smuggler. 

History 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 237 

History of Fair Rosamond and Jane Shore, two 
prostitutes. 

* Donna Rosina, a Spanish courtezan. 

Ovid's Art of Love. 

History of Witches and Apparitions. 

The Devil and Dr. Faustus. 

Moll Flanders, highly edifying no doubt. 

New System of boxing by Mendoza, &c. &c. &c. 
Whilst these are the books, from which our poor 

have their education, it can hardly be expected, 

that the lives of pirates, dexterous thieves, witches, 

smugglers, and illustrious prostitutes, can have any 

but the very worst tendency. The fault must be 
in a good measure attributed to the total neglect 
of the Roman Catholic clergy ; did they pay that 
attention to the schools, that they ought, such books 
would not for half a century have continued to dis- 
grace and corrupt the children of their persuasion, 
of which the scholars almost exclusively are ; for 
good spelling-books, and the many little cheap 
tracts published by the Society for discountenancing 
vice, and sold by Mr. Watson in Capel-street, and in 
some country towns, are not dearer or more difficult 
to procure than the infamous publications, of which 
I have given a disgusting but small catalogue. 

At the chapel of Kilfenora two schools are kept; 
one master has about eighty, and the other fifty 
scholars j for small boys they receive Is, l\d, 9 for 



238 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

bigger ones, whom they teach arithmetic and book- 
keeping, 3s. 9ld. per quarter. In Kilrush one school 
has upwards of one hundred, another seventy, another 
fifty; Menmore twenty, Querin thirty-five, Moyferta 
twenty, Cross forty, Fodhieragh twenty, Kilclogher 
twenty ; all these are in the union of Kilrush. The 
three schools in Kilrush are the only ones, that are 
attended in winter; the masters receive for reading, 
writing, and arithmetic 6s. per annum, and for read- 
ing and spelling 4s. There is scarcely a part of the 
county without a school, which in summer is nu- 
merously attended. In the mountains of Broadford 
one school contains upwards of sixty of both sexes, 
at \s. l\d. and 2s. 2d. per quarter; they are taught 
the Universal Spelling Book, Alibaba, and the Seven 
Sleepers. In a school near Spansel-hill, containing 
above sixty scholars, they pay 2s. 3d. per quarter, 
but are taught arithmetic. There is a very numerous 
school kept in the Roman Catholic chapel at Kil- 
laloe ; it contains several grown boys and girls, 
and, when I visited it unexpectedly, I surprized 
two of these learning their lesson in a very loving 
manner, the gentleman's arm about the } T oung lady's 
waist; the master was absent. There are two schools 
at Ennis, one of which is on the foundation of Erasmus 
Smyth, and has been conducted by the Rev. Mr. Fitz- 
gerald for many years with high reputation ; the other 

school 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 239 

school is also admirably well kept by Mr. O'Halloran. 
The diocesan school at Killaloe is well conducted. 

The Rev. Mr. Barret, titular Dean of Killaloe, by 
his unwearied exertions had a charity school erected 
in Ennis in 1792; it at present consists of about fifty 
boys : he informs me, that the Roman Catholic inha- 
bitants of Ennis contribute very little towards its sup- 
port ; the chief aid comes from the Dean's own pocket, 
assisted by the liberality of the Marquis of Head- 
fort, Lord Conyngham, Colonel Burton, and a few 
other gentlemen, by whose assistance upwards of 
forty boys have been apprenticed. This good Dean 
also supports, chiefly from his own little income, a 
school of ten girls ; how different from some of his 
Protestant brethren possessing lucrative sinecures, 
who think charity begins (and stays) at home ! 

There was a Protestant charter-school erected by 
Anthony Hickman, Esq. early in the last century, 
at Ballyket in the parish of Kilrush ; it maintained 
forty boys, and had two acres of land annexed to 
it ; but from non-payment of rent the establishment 
was dissolved, and a very commodious house in a, 
cheap country is now in ruins. There are three or 
four protestant families' in the neighbourhood, whose 
ancestors were educated there. Until lately there 
was a protestant charter-school at Newmarket ; for 
what reason it has been removed, I am ignorant. 

Sir 



240 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Sir Edward O'Brien intends to procure one of 
the benevolent Mr. Lancaster's pupils, and open a 
school at Newmarket. The benefit this will be of 
to the rising generation is incalculable ; the scholars 
will not only learn infinitely quicker, but they 
will not imbibe bad principles from the lives of 
notorious prostitutes and successful villains. How 
different the state of education now and before the 
irruption of the Danes ! it is too well attested to be 
disputed ; learning flourished greatly between the 
years 432 and 820, when the Danes first invaded 
Ireland. M'Curtin savs that, after the coming of 
the English, there were," at one time, upwards of 
six hundred scholars at Clonroad near Ennis. 



Sect. 11. State of non-resident and resident 
Proprietors. 

Although the number of non-resident proprietors 
is not very great, yet the greater part of the county 
belongs to them ; the principal are, 
Marquis of Thomond, Lord Clive, 

Marquis of Buckingham, Lord Perry, 
Lord Powerscourt, Earl of Egremont, 

Lord Milton, Henry O'Brien, Esq. 

Marquis of Headfort, Westby, Esq. 

Lord Conyngham, George Stackpoole, Esq. 

Lord Norbury, Toby Butler, Esq. 

Walcot, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 241 

Walcot, Esq. Michael Blood, Esq. 

Sir John Riggs Miller, Richard Blood, Esq. 

Sir Hugh Dillon Massey, William Blood, Esq. 

Whitelock, Esq. Sir John Blake. 

• Synge, Esq. 

% ■ 
No person can deny the right, which every man 

has to live where he likes best; but surely one of 
a feeling mind would find himself impelled to make 
some amends for the want of his cheering influence 
and example, and, in return for those large sums, 
which, totally lost to this country, enable him to 
live with splendour in another, to give every en- 
couragement to an improving resident tenantry, not 
only by rewards for the best stock of husbandry, 
but by sending from England males of the best 
kinds of each species, , and models of improved 
implements, to be kept by his agent, and under 
certain restrictions dispensed gratis to the most 
deserving of his tenants, but above all by the dis- 
pensing from the fountain-head that never-failing 
inducement to Irish industry, a certain tenure^ and 
freeing them from the rack-rents imposed by that 
bane to Irish prosperity, an Irish middleman.* 

2 I A person, 

* I beg it may be understood, tbat I discriminate between a 
wretch, who takes large tracts of ground, and relets at an enormous 
rent, without any lease, or at best a very short one, without making 
the smallest improvement, and the monied man of skill, who takes 
a great extent of waste ground, and, after reclaiming it by a great 

expenditure 



242 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

A person, who has traversed the county in every 
direction, as I have done frequently, must lament 
to see such vast regions of improvable ground, that 
a little industry and skill would clothe with smiling 
harvests, devoted to the rearing or rather starving of 
a few young cattle, and considered as of so little 
value as either to be thrown in, as of no sort of 
value, with a few acres of other land, or set in great 
masses without measurement by the bulk. 

In that part of the county between Mount Callan 
and the Shannon, containing many miles square, 
I have seen thousands of acres of ground, highly 
improvable, set in this wretched mode, that with 
attention and skill could be made well worth two 
guineas an acre, and that now do not bring one 
shilling; and yet I dare say, if any man or company 
of skill and enterprize would propose to take any 
part of this dreary waste, he would be referred to an 
agent wholly ignorant of agricultural affairs, or per- 
haps be offered a twenty-one years' lease at a high 
acreable rent with many vexatious clauses. It will 
scarcely be credited, that an agent to a great estate 
in the county of Mayo must have at least a year's 
rent in hand as lease-money, whilst the indolent 

spendthrift 

expenditure of money and industry, relets it at a rent, that, though 
moderate, will, amply repay him, and put it in the power of those, 
whose want of capital and skill prevented it, to provide comfortably 
for their families. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 243 

spendthrift landlord countenances the receipt of this 
monstrous bribe. When such things are permitted 
by landlords, how can Ireland make those advances 
in improvement, that her climate, population, and 
the sinews of her athletic peasantry would quickly 
enable her to do ? If absentees could be once brought 
to determine to let their lands, already under cul- 
tivation, to none but occupying tenants, they would 
soon see and feel the beneficial effects of the practice, 
and I cannot conceive, why a tenant will not pay 
his rent as well to a resident agent, as to an indolent 
non-resident middleman. Mr. Young, who cannot 
be accused of partiality, speaks thus in his Tour in 
Ireland, vol. ii. part 2, page 21. " When therefore 
" it is considered, that no advantage to the estate 
u can arise from a non-resident tenant, and that a 
" resident intermediate one improves no more than 
<e the poor occupiers, who are prevented by his op- 
" pressions, that the landlord often gains little or 
" nothing in security for employing them, but that 
" he suffers a prodigious deduction in his rental for 
" mere expectations, which every hour's experience 
" proves to be delusive. When these facts are duly 
" weighed, it is presumed, that the gentlemen in 
u those parts of the kingdom, which yet groan 
** under such a system of absurdity, folly, and op- 
u pression, will follow the example set by such a 
[* variety of intelligent landlords, and be deaf to 
£ i 2 " the 



244 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

?' the deceitful asseverations, with which their ears are 
"assailed, to treat the anecdotes retailed of the cot- 
" tier's poverty with the contempt they deserve, 
u when coming from the mouth of a jobber ; when 
" these blood-suckers of the poor tenantry boast of 
" their own improvements, to open their eyes and 
** view the ruins, which are dignified by such a term, 
" and finally determine, as friends to themselves, 
" to their posterity, and their country, to let their 
" estates to* none but the occupying tenantry" 

I am also happy in having a coincidence of opinion 
from the enlightened author of the Kildare Survey; 
page 52, he says, (and I hope the absentees of Ire- 
land will follow the example,) " The example of the 
" late Marquis of Rockingham to improve his estate 
<e induced him to send large quantities of the most 
" improved implements in agriculture, to be divided 
" gratis amongst his Wicklow tenantry. To shew 
" example to his English tenantry he- established 
" farms to be separately conducted, according to the 
" most improved Norfolk and Kentish farming, in 
" order tl^at his tenantry might judge for themselves. 
" In such acts as these true patriotism is placed ; by 
<c such conduct the squire of 500/, a year, who starves 
" in the purlieus of a court, would soon see a planted 
" improved country about him, and his estate en- 
" creased four-fold. The absentee employs an Irish 
" agent, too frequently an attorney, whose know- 
t " ledge 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLAUE. 245 

f* ledge never exceeded the limits of the Four Courts, 
Sf to receive his rents, set his estates, and divide &c. 
" at his sovereign pleasure ; the agent comes down 
" at stated half-yearly periods; from failure of crop 
" or market, some few are not punctual ; the agent 
xe cannot spare time to look at the means of pay- 
" merit ; he cannot be at the least trouble of coming 
" a second time ; he sends down ejectments, and 
" runs up a bill of costs of twelve pounds for a few 
" days want of punctuality. How can a tenantry 
" flourish under such hands? How can an estate 
" improve under such management ? I would here 
" counsel those characters, who cannot breathe the 
" air of Ireland, to choose for their agents men ac- 
" quainted with the value of land ; men, who are 
" resident on or near their estates ; men, who will 
" watch, superintend, and encourage the tenant, 
11 who will plant and improve ; men, who will es- 
" tablish nurseries for the use of the tenantry, supply 
" them with the best males for the improvement 
*' of their stock of every kind ; in short, men, who 
" will truly represent the absentee, and prefer the 
" improvement of his estate to every other consi- 
" deration." 

I would by no means recommend to an absentee 
to enter into the detail of the improvement of 
waste land ; but he certainly should make all the 
necessary drains, divide the land into fields of con- 
venient 



246 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

venient size, build comfortable houses and offices, 
make roads, build lime-kilns, and thus induce in- 
dustrious tenants to perfect the improvements he 
began j but, to make this either profitable to him- 
self or instructive to the country, he must employ 
scientific practical men to conduct it, and not 
leave it to an ignorant steward, or perhaps to Paddy 
or Jemmy, two cronies of the agent. If he has so 
much of his country's bigotry as to think Irishmen 
incapable of conducting an improvement of this na- 
ture, let him send over an English, or Scotch, or 
any man, that will carry it into effect. 

In many parts of this county there are middle- 
men, who possess large properties, either by this 
mode or by the industry of their ancebtors, who 
have improved the ground immediately adjoining to 
their houses ; but in general any ground at a distance 
is usually under as bad management as that of the 
poorest cottier; draining their ground is the last 
thing they think of. 

The resident proprietors of estates are not nu- 
merous, but the list of wealthy landholders is very 
long and highly respectable, many of them able to 
purchase the fee of the estates, on which they have 
made their money. 



Szct, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 241 



Sect. 12. State of circulation of money or paper. 

Before the emission of silver coin of different 
values by the Bank of Ireland, this county in com- 
mon with every part of Ireland, except the North, 
was obliged to submit to the acceptance of small 
notes, from 6d. to half-a-guinea ; every petty trader 
circulated his notes in multitudes ; they, as might be 
expected, being destitute of capital and some of 
honesty, heavy losses have been sustained by those, 
who could least afford it. it will be scarcely cre- 
dited in Dublin, that at this day, 1st of October. 
1807, they are publicly negociated in Ennis, and of 
the value of is, \d. to a guinea. Since the liberal cir- 
culation of silver coin by the Bank of Ireland, there 
can be no possible excuse for the emission of paper 
for small sums. If every landholder adopted the 
plan of Sir Edward O'Brien, of refusing all notes 
but those of the Bank of Ireland or Limerick, kites 
would soon fly to some other country; but the 
landlord should give previous notice of his inten- 
tion, otherwise the poor tenant would have to pay 
a very heavy discount for these notes. 



Sect* 



248 STATISTICAL SURVEY 



Sect. 13. State of farming or agricultural 
societies. 

There is scarcely a county in Ireland, where 
a farming society is more wanting than in this 
very backward one. As the majority of the land- 
holders are graziers, they, in common with gen- 
tlemen of that description, are very far behind 
other parts of Ireland in agricultural pursuits, and 
consequently not a little obstinate in defence of old 
practices. It will take some years to convince them, 
that small bone in cattle and sheep can carry 
as much meat as large, and that a fleece of South 
Down wool, which sells this year (1807) for 16s., is 
more profitable than that of the ugly thick-legged, 
big-headed animal they are so fond of, which is worth 
on an average only about 6s. A few years since 
a farming society was proposed by some enlightened 
gentlemen, but after a few meetings, and collecting 
about thirty guineas, for what reason I am ignorant, 
every thing died away. When the very great benefit, 
that has accrued to the country from the exertions 
of the different farming societies of Ireland, be 
considered, I am at a loss to account for this very- 
culpable apathy ; if any thing can rouse them from 
their torpor, I would beg leave to propose the 
following list of premiums, and I look with con- 
fidence 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 249 

fidence to the present members for the county, 
whom I happy to have in the list of not only 
resident but improving proprietors, for carrying this 
beneficial plan into execution. No excuse can be 
made on account of the expence ; the amount of 
the premiums not exceeding iOOl. annually, even 
supposing they were all claimed, which, I fear, 
would not be the case. 



CLASS I. 
For comfortable Habitations. 

I. To the gentleman or farmer, who 
shall have the most comfortable ha- 
bitations for his labourers, a medal. 

II. To the three persons living by their 
labour, who shall have their children, 
houses, and gardens in the neatest, 
cleanest, and most decent order : £. s. d, 

III. To the first, - 2 

IV. To the second, - - - 1 10 

V. To the third, - 10 

VI. To the person living by labour, and 
paying not more than 40/. a year 
rent, who shall have his house, farm, 
and offices in the best and neatest 

order, - - - - 3 

2 k N, B. 



250 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

N. B. The mode of cultivation, cleanness of the 
ground, and thriving state of the quicksets, will very 
much influence the decision of the premium. 

N. B. No person to be admitted as a claimant of 
any of the premiums of this class, who shall not, 
once at least, within the year preceding the deci- 
sion, have white-washed or coloured his house in- 
side and outside, and kept a paved or gravelled 
way in front, free from dunghill or dirt, and not 
admitted his pig to sleep in his dwelling-house, 
and who has not a yard or place enclosed from the 
road, for his cows, pigs, turf-stack, dunghill, &c. 
and who has not a chimney, that draws the smoke, 
and windows, that open with a sash or hinges in 
each room. 



CLASS II. 

For industry and fidelity. 

No. I. To the person, who /shall have 
lived the greatest number of years 
in the service of any member of this 
society, with honesty, sobriety, di- 
ligence, and fidelity, not less than ten £. s. d. 
years - - - - 3 

To the second - - - 2 

To the third - - - - 1 

No. II. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 25 1 

No. II. To the labourer, who shall have 
earned most money (not less than £ p s. d, 
five pounds) by working at task work 2 
To the second - - * 10 

No. III. To the labourer in husbandry, 
who shall have worked the greatest 
number of days in the year 1808, in 
the service of any member of this 
society, to the satisfaction of his em- 
ployer, not less than 250 days at 
labouring work only - - - 2 
To the second - - - - 1 10 Q 
To the third ^ - - *» J 
No. IV. To the son of a labourer, under 
fifteen years of age, who shall have 
worked the greatest number of days 
in the year 1808, in the service of 
any one member of the society, to 
the satisfaction of his employer, not 
Jess than 250 days at labouring work 2 Q 
To the second «■ - *■ 110 

No. V. To the wife or widow of a 
labourer, who shall have spun the 
greatest quantity of linen or woollen 
yarn (not less than 60lbs.) in the year 
1808, with her children only, under 
the age of sixteen years - • i 10 O 
To the second greatest quantity 10 

To the third greatest quantity 10 

2 K 2 No. VI. 



2*2 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

fvfo. VI. To the wife or widow of a 
labourer, who shall have knit the 
greatest number of pairs of stockings, 
with the assistance of her children 
only, under the age of sixteen years, £. s. d, 
within the year 1808 - - - 1 10 
To the second - - - 10 

To the third - - - 10 

CLASS III. 

To the school-master, who shall have 
the best abilities and character for 
honesty, sobriety, and regularit}*, 
who shall have his school-house and 
bis scholars in the neatest and cleanest 
order, and whose scholars, on exa- 
mination, shall be best instructed in 
reading, writing, and arithmetic, 5 

To the second - - - 3 



CLASS IV. 

Crops. 

No. I. To the labourer in husbandry, 
holding not more than twenty acres, 
who shall have the largest, cleanest, 

and 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 253 

and best crop of red clover, (not less 
than one acre,) and sown with seed not £. s>. d. 
less than at the rate of 2lhs. per acre 2 
No* II. To the farmer living by agri- 
culture, and paying not more than 
thirty pounds per annum rent, who 
shall have the largest, cleanest, and 
best crop of drill potatoes, not less 
than half an acre - - - 2 
To the second - - - 10 



CLASS v. 
Planting. 

No. I. To the artificer or labourer, who 
shall, within the year 1808, plant and 
protect the greatest quantity of sal- 
low, ozier, or willow, of any kind 2 

No. II. To the person in this district, who 
shall, within the year 1808, enclose 
the greatest quantity of ground, not 
less than half an acre, and stock it 
\yith forest-trees, shrubs, and white- 
thorn quicks, for sale as a nursery 5 
To the second - - - 3 

No. III. To the farmer living by agri- 
culture, and not holding more than 

fifty 



25* STATISTICAL SURVEY 

fifty acres of ground, who shall plant 

and protect the greatest number of 

trees, within bedge-rows, not more £. t. d. 

than six feet asunder - - - 3 



CLASS VI. 

Improving and manuring. 

No. I. To the person, not holding more 
than fifty acres, who shall put the 
greatest quantity of lime upon his 
farm, not less than eighty barrels 
to the acre, and not less than three 
acres - - - - - - 50,0 

No. II. To the person, who improves 
the greatest quantity of bog, not 
holding more than twenty acres, and 
lays it down with grass-seed, not less 
than two acres - - - - 3 
To the second - - - - 2 

No. III. To the best compost maker, 
in quantity and quality, not holding 
more than twelve acres - - 3 



CLASS 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 255 



CLASS VIL 

Cattle* 

I. To the person, who shall keep the 

best bull for the use of the barony £. fc d. 
he resides in, a silver cup, or - 5 

II. To the farmer living by agriculture, 
who shall produce at one summer 
shew the best cow and calf his own 
property - - - 4 

To the second - 3 

To the third - - - 2 

CLASS VIII. 



Sheep. 

To the person, who shall keep a ram 
of an improved breed (the new Lei- 
cester) for the use of the barony he 
resides in, a silver cup. 
N. B. No person to have the use of said ram, 

who holds more than fifty acres of land ; also not 

to send more than five ewes, and to pay for each 

three pence per night for grassv 

CLASS 



25* STATISTICAL SURVEY 

CLASS IX. 

Horses. 

To the person, who shall let to mares £. s. <£. 
the best draught horse in this district 15 

CLASS X. 

Swine. 

I. To the person, who shall keep for 
public use a boar of an improved 

breed, a silver cup, or - - 5 O 

II. To the labourer, who shall produce 
the best sow and her pigs in the 

year 1808, his property - * 2 
To the second - - - l O 

CLASS XL 

Ploughing. 

I. To the person, who shall plough 
twenty perches of lea in the best 
manner, the cup presented by the 
Farming Society of Ireland. 

To 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 257 

To the ploughman - £,$ 

To the second - - - 2 

To the third - - - - 10 

CLASS XIL 

Ploughs, 

To the carpenter or plough-maker, who 
shall produce at our meeting the best 
and cheapest plough, made by him- 
self, and who will contract, if re- 
quired, to furnish ten of the same at 
the price of the one produced * 5 

CLASS XIII. 

Carts and Cars, 

To the artificer, who shall produce the 
best constructed cart, car, or other 
vehicle, which will combine strength 
with ease of draught, and contract as 
in class the twelfth - - - 5 
To the second - - - 3 



2'L class 



25S STATISTICAL SURVEY 



CLASS XIV. 

Smith! s work. 

To the smith, in the county, who shall 
produce the best shod wheel, or any 
piece of iron work belonging to agri- 
cultural use £.2 
To the second - - i 10 
To the third - ^ 1 

1st. Resolved, We pledge ourselves to each other, 
that we will not take into our service any artificer, 
servant, or labourer, who may be discharged or 
dismissed the service of any member of this society 
for any species of misconduct ; and we pledge our- 
selves to part with the person immediately, if through 
inadvertence we might happen to engage such a one 
in our service j and we declare, that, while on the 
one hand we will encourage and protect the sober. 
and industrious, we will, on the other, use every 
exertion in our power to bring to justice the idle 
and profligate, and to punish all those, who shall be 
detected in plundering the crops and destroying 
the property of their industrious neighbours, to the 
. great discouragement of all agricultural exertion 
and improvement, and for this purpose we will 

pay, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 2SS> 

pay, to whoever shall discover, and prosecute to 
conviction, any person or persons guilty of stealing 
corn, hay, turnips, or other crop, sheep, or fowl 
of any sort, or of cutting or stealing any timber, 
young trees, or hedges, the sum of three guineas, 

2d. Resolved, That any person, who shall in 
future employ the amount of the premium, or any 
part of it he or they may receive, in getting drunk 
or making others so, is declare4 incapable of ever 
becoming a candidate for any premium again. The 
reward given by the Society being meant for the 
benefit of the sober and industrious, not for the 
encouragement of drunkenness and rioting, its usual 
consequences. 

3d. Resolved, That the Society will meet but 
two days in each year. One of the days to appoint 
the committee for inspecting the different claims; 
the other day for paying them for the next twelve 
months. 

Sect. 14. State of ' manufactures — whether • encreasing. 

All the linen manufactured in this county is 
iised for home consumption, and is generally coarse 
and of low price, A small quantity of coarse diapers 
for towels is made, and generally sold at fairs and 
markets ; also canvas for sacks and bags is sold in 
the same manner. Some judgment may be formed 
2 L 2 of 



260 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

of the extent of the manufacture, when it is known, 
that there are but three small bleach-greens in the 
county ; one at Ennis, one at Donass, and one at 
Ballvhonesre. I do not think the genius of the 
country seems to lead that way ; they are much 
more inclined to pursue the woollen manufacture. 
Flax-seed is usually procured from Limerick, and 
almost all imported from America ; since the com- 
mencement of the war Dutch seed could not be 
procured, to which a decided preference would be 
given. American seed may be easily distinguished 
by its brown colour, whilst the Dutch has a greenish 
cast ; the cause of this preference is not known nor 
easily accounted for ; the colour of the American 
seed proceeding from their permitting their flax 
to stand longer than the Dutch, one would ima- 
gine, that the produce of ripe seed would be su- 
perior to that of unripe, but there is always a 
good deal o/ whim in these opinions. The only 
reason they assign for this preference is, that 
the Dutch seed does not produce flax with spotted 
stalks, but I am inclined to think this is mere sup- 
position. Most poor people save their own seed, 
and it is equal to any they can buy. When the 
flax is pulled, after beating off the seed-pods, it 
is immediately watered in stagnant pools, but too 
often in the river Shannon ; at the proper period 
it is spread to dry, and then usually brought into 

the 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 261 

the house, where it remains until October or No- 
vember, when men, who travel through the country 
for this purpose, finish the process by breaking, 
scutching, and hackling, and leaving it ready for 
spinning. The women then frequently give it what 
they call a cloving, which is performed by a small 
instrument, called a cloving-tongue, and makes the 
flax soft and silky ; to produce this effect, they also 
beetle it well. A small quantity of yarn as fine 
as four dozen is manufactured near Ennis, but the 
quantity is so trifling as not to deserve the name 
of a manufacture. Spinning-wheels are made in 
various places ; the common sort sells for 6s. each ; 
those made in imitation of North-country wheels 
for about half a guinea ; the first sort answers very 
well for any thing under three dozen yarn, but 
for finer the other is necessary; if the price was 
as low as that of the common kind, they would 
be preferred, as the women say, that from the 
greater circumference of the wheel they are more 
easily turned, and do not require such quick repe- 
titions of pressure by the foot. Wheels for spinning 
woollen yarn usually sell for about five or six 
shillings. A good quantity of coarse woollens called 
frize are made chiefly for home consumption. 

At Corrofin and Innistymon considerable quan- 
tities of coarse yarn stockings are sold every market 
day j they are not as fine as those made in Cun- 

narnara 



262 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

namara in the county of Galway, (thanks to the 
Leicester sheep,) but are much stronger, and fitter 
for soldiers and those, who prefer strength to beauty : 
they are brought in large quantities to Dublin and 
the North by dealers, who attend at these towns 
every market day. Since the introduction of Lei- 
cester sheep, called by the old women the Dexters, 
the wool of Burrin and other rocky districts, that 
was formerly proverbially fine, has become coarse ; 
consequently the manufacture has kept pace with 
it, and, instead of producing stockings equal in 
goodness and fineness, and much cheaper than those 
imported from Wales, they now seldom exceed 2s. 
per pair. Bindon Blood, Esq. lately of Riverston, 
introduced the South Down breed of sheep, as likely 
to bring back the wool to its former fine staple ; the 
first cross alone between these and the native sheep 
has produced wool nearly as fine as South Down. 
As yet the breeders of that part of the county do 
not see the advantage of the cross ; judging only 
by the eye, they think them too small, and the 
bone too fine, not considering, that a sheep, covered 
with wool seven or eight inches long, must appear 
much larger than one, whose wool is only two. 
A hoouxet ram of each breed was weighed bv Mr. 
Blood; the eye would judge the new Leicester to 
be at least 50 lbs. heavier than the South Down, for, 
besides the greater length of wool, it was in higher 

condition, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 263 

condition, being fed on the best ground near the 
house, whilst the South Down had just come from 
a very poor pasture in Burrin ; yet to the asto- 
nishment of a new-light breeder very much pre- 
possessed against the South Down, the new-light 
sheep weighed only 10 lbs. more than the South 
Down, and the wool of the last was worth at least 
105., whilst the other was worth only about 5s. ; 
the gentleman, who was present, was so convinced, 
that he has purchased several breeding ewes from 
Mr. Blood, and intends to encrease his stock on 
his ground in Burrin. I would not be understood 
to mean, that this breed would be the most be- 
neficial on every kind of soil ; I only wish to press 
the matter at present on the minds of those breeders, 
who possess large tracts of ground producing a short 
scanty bite. 

I have the authority of a very eminent stocking 
manufacturer in Dublin to state, that, if a hall was 
established in some central situation, and an honest 
intelligent inspector appointed, and some person of 
capital were to embark in the business, the manufac- 
ture could be brought to such a pitch of perfection as 
not only to supply the whole consumption of Ireland, 
but to open a trade to all other parts of the world, 
and enable us to undersell the English and Scotch 
manufacturers in their own markets.* The late Sir 

Lucius 

* One town alone in Scotland exports knit stockings to the amount 
of above 100,0001. 



264 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Lucius O'Brien attempted to establish a serge ma- 
nufactory at Corrofin, but, after spending a consi- 
derable sum, and making some progress, it has 
totally declined. 

A manufactory of coatings, &c. is established at 
Ennis by Mr. Carney; I have seen some of his 
beaver coating at lis. 4;\d. per yard, and think it 
superior to any sold in Dublin for a much higher 
price. He informs me, that a much finer kind of 
wool than either that of Burrin or Cunnamara is 
produced in the remote western part of this county, 
where it has not been improved by a cross of coarse- 
woolled Leicester sheep; it sells for a guinea per 
stone, when the other wools of the country sell for 
fifteen shillings ; of what incalculable benefit would 
a few South Down rams be in this country, and 
what a blessing would the absentee landlord confer 
by sending over a few to his poor tenants ? 

Mr. O'Brien of Ennis has lately established a broad 
cloth and beaver manufactory, with all the modern 
machinery for saving labour, and manufactures about 
2000 stone of wool. The two Mr. O'Keefes also 
work up about the same quantity into serges, which, 
after supplying the home demand, they send to 
Limerick, &c. &c. A small blanket manufactory is 
also established at Ennis, but wants capital to extend 
it to meet the demand. 

Twenty years ago Killaloe had a very flourishing 

trade 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 265 

trade in stuffs, camblets, and serges, which employed 
above 150 hands; they were allowed 5s. per week 
by their employers for provisions : in consequence 
of this and the fostering care of former bishops, 
two markets were held in the week, and well sup- 
plied ; since the total annihilation of that trade, and 
owing to every species of neglect and contempt, 
there is now no market, nor any kind of trade or 
manufactures. A good deal of wool is bought by 
jobbers, and sold in the county of Galway in small * 
quantities to women, who manufacture it into flannels 
and frizes ; these are again purchased by perhaps 
the same jobbers, or those of Galway and Loughrea 
for about ild. per handle of thirty inches, and car- 
ried to the North of Ireland, where they are sold 
for about id. a yard profit. 

A considerable number of coarse hats are manu- 
factured near Skarriff; they are in great estimation all 
over the country, and sell at from 35. 9{d. to 5s. 5d, ; 
they are dyed with alder bark, and twigs, and log- 
wood, but principally the first. 

A considerable quantity of kelp is manufactured 
on the extensive shores this county possesses ; it is 
generally made in so careless and dishonest a manner, 
that the value is considerably less than that of 
Scotland or other countries ; when it sells in Scot- 
land for 6/. per ton, it only brings in Ireland 4l, 
per ton j so far are they from clearing the sea-weed 

2 m from 



?«6 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



from sand, shells, or any other extraneous sub- 
stances, I am informed by Mr. Molony of Kil- 
tannon, that stones of a particular kind, and tech- 
nically called- kelp stones , are broken small, and 
added to the ignited mass, forming so complete 
an union as not to be distinguished by the eye, 
when the kelp is offered for sale. I have added a 
piece of the stone to the Dublin Society's museum. 
Ashes produced by burning weeds, thorns, briars, 
&c. are frequently sold ; in a powdered state they 
generally bring &cl. per gallon ; they are usually 
made into very hard cakes with water, about eight 
inches in diameter and two inches thick, weighing 
about 3lbs., and are sold for about 4d each ; before 
using they are well burned, which is nearly pur- 
suing the chemical process for making pearl-ashes.* 

Sect. 15. State of mills of even/ kind* 

The mills, that dress flour, are those of 
Clifden, Skarriff, also a rape-mill, 

Ennis, Cloundegad, 

Six-mile-bridge, (not now Kilrush, 

at work,) New park, 

Derragh, Newmarket. 

Grist-mills. 



* I am informed by Mr. Donald Stewart, that the cultivation of 
the plant, that produces the barilla ashes, could be carried on in 
many parts of the western coast with very great advantage. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 



267 



Grist-mills. 



Ennis, 

Skarriff, 

Innistymon, 

Six-mile-bridge, 

Ardsallas, 

Ballylyon, 

Inchiquin, 

Bally kilty, 

Dunbeg, 



Annacoragh, 

Derry, 

Donogan, 

Ballye, 

Blackwater, 

Killaloe, 

Cregg, 

Ranagha, 

Newmarket 



Tuck-mills, 

Kiverston, Woodmount, 

Innistymon, Donagon, 

Ennis, Kilrush, 

Ballylyon, Ballye, 

Ballykilty, Cloundegad, 

Dunbeg, Killaloe, 

Annacoragh, Ardsallas. 

Derry, 

The tuck-mills receive Id, per bandle of twenty- 
seven inches for milling ; a piece shortens about 
one-third in the operation, sometimes more, or less, 
according to the use intended to be made of it, 
or the fancy of the owner of the cloth ; these 
2 M 2 mills 



263 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



mills are of very rude construction, and almost al- 
ways use more water than necessary, from the im- 
proper construction of their water-wheels, and the 
bad condition, in which they are generally kept ; 
they are mostly a great nuisance in a country, 
throwing back water on great tracts of ground, 
and converting that water, which Would manure 
many thousand acres of ground, to a purpose, that 
could be equally well effected by wind. The rape- 
mill at Skarriff is conducted by Mr. James Flannery ; 
I was informed he could procure as much seed as 
he can manufacture. It appeared to me, that he 
lost much of the oil from want of sufficient pres- 
sure, and I have no doubt his rape-cake would m«ke 
excellent manure, from the quantity of oil remaining 
in it. This mill is highly useful, as an inducement 
to the cultivation of rape in bogs. The river ( hi- 
garnee, running through Six- mile-bridge into the 
Shannon, is one of the best calculated I have seen 
for extensive manufactures ; the supply is equal to 
any expenditure of water, in the midst of a fine 
corn country, and contiguous io Limerick, Ennis, 
Six-mile-bridge, the Shannon, &c. &c. From Bal- 
lymacastle to Six- mile-bridge the fall is so rapid, 
that there could be a mill erected at every hundred 
yards. 



Sect, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 269 



S£CT. 1 6 . State of plantations and planting. 

Few countries want planting more than this, 
many miles square frequently occurring with scarcely 
a tree to enliven the dreary scene, and in situations 
which, from their extreme rockiness, are fit for little 
else; as the fissures of the limestone-rocks gene- 
rally take a perpendicular direction, and are ge- 
nerally filled with a rich, light, black earth, there 
can be no doubt of success; indeed, if any doubt 
could remain, it must vanish, when the growth of 
those accidentally produced is observed, and it has 
been handed down by documents, and by tradition, 
that those very rocks, which I recommend to be 
planted, have at remote periods been covered with 
woods ; even some old people recollect woods grow- 
ing, where wool only is now produced. In many 
places, if protected from the ravages of sheep and 
goats, the natural growth of oak, ash, quicken, hazel, 
thorn, &c. &c. would in a very few years clothe these 
naked rocks with a luxuriant growth.* 

The shelter afforded by these crags is also of infinite 
use in a country so much exposed to storms from the 

Atlantic 

* One Reedy, a small farmer in Bnrrin, brought some seedJin^ 
ash and quicken from Dublin about twenty years ago ; the place m 
which he planted them, was so destitute of earth, that he was obliged 
to bring mould from a neighbouring bog to cover the roots ; they are 
now worth in general more than five shillings per tree, in grosip.4 
not werth one shilling per acre, I 



1270 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



Atlantic ocean, the effects of which are frequently 
seen for many miles inland, even to the eastern ex- 
tremity of Ireland ; this, though a bar to planting 
in small groupes, or dotting with single trees in 
exposed situations, does not prevent planting in 
large masses, provided the trees are planted near 
to each other; there are few situations, where trees 
will not grow, if this rule is observed ; for, though 
the western side of every plantation, however deep 
it may be, will certainly be injured, and the tops 
of the trees will form an inclined plane, yet within 
this they will grow as freely as in any sheltered 
situation of equally good soil. At any future pe- 
riod, when thinning is necessarj', these outside in- 
jured trees should be scrupulously preserved, for 
the certain consequence of removing them would 
be the death of those they protected ; where the 
screen has grown so as to afford shelter, and even 
on the eastern side of hills, any grouping or dotting, 
that taste or fancy (they are by no means syno- 
nymous,) may suggest, can be without apprehension 
of failure executed ; but before this period, to at- 
tempt it would be loss of time, trees, and repu- 
tation. Many instances of this mistake may be seen 
in this county, as well as in every other part of 
Ireland. From their impatience to obtain shelter, 
too many are tempted to plant trees of some 
growth; this can be done only in very sheltered 

situations, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 271 

situations, with but few kinds of trees, and with 
those only, that have grown in situations equally 
exposed; but, without considering this necessary , 
precaution, trees are frequently taken from plan- 
tations, where they have been sheltered, and planted 
on the tops of hills to linger out an existence for a 
few years.* 

Bindon Blood, Esq. has now nearly finished the 
planting of upwards of eighty acres of rocky and 
light soil, the greater part of it worth very little 
for agricultural purposes; the plantation consists 
of oak, elm, beech, birch, Scotch and spruce 
fir, alder, sycamore, pine-aster, &c. &c. but chiefly 
larch and ash, as the most valuable. If other gen- 
tlemen pursued the same plan with equal spirit and 
intelligence, this county would soon wear a new ap- 
pearance, and the shelter afforded by such extensive 
plantations would contribute not only to the improve- 
ment of the adjoining land, but materially to that of 
stock of every description. I wish most sincerely I 
could say any thing, that would turn the thoughts 
of young gentlemen to this profitable and charming 
study ; how much more gratifying, than any thing 
they can experience in lounging about the streets of 
Ennis, a town where of all others there is less amuse* 
ment (if a wretched billiard-table, and a coffee-house 

without 

* It is fortunate for posterity, that the expence and difficulty 
put limits to this folly ; in this respect I must consider Mr. Bout- 
clier's publication to have done much mischief. 



fLVZ STATISTICAL SURVEY 

without coffee or tea, and a reading society without 
books, are excepted) than in most towns in Ireland. 

William Burton, Esq. of Clifden, has also planted 
extensively on some picturesque hills near his house, 
which in a few years will encrease the beauty of his 
charming situation, on the banks of the lake of Inchi- 
quin y a situation, that in this county stands unrivalled 
for picturesque beauty, and variety of outline : he 
is now preparing to make considerable additions to 
his designs. 

Mr. O'Hara has made some extensive and ele- 
gantly sketched plantations on the banks of Lough 
Graney. 

At Springmount, the estate of Mr. Arthur, in the 
barony of Tullagh, some extensive plantations have 
been made, and, as the road runs through them, 
they are very ornamental. 

Mr. Arthur has some very fine-shaped hills near 
Glenomera, that would appear with fine effect, if 
they were planted, and the valley thrown under 
water. 

Sir Edward O'Brien is making very extensive plan- 
tations ; in 1806 alone he planted upwards of thirty 
acres. Larch were planted late in spring, and suc- 
ceeded better than most others ; this valuable pro- 
perty I have often experienced. 

Captain Massey's woods of Doone near Brdadibrd 
are under very bad management ) according to the 

general 



OF TH£ COUNTY OF CLARE. 273 

general practice of Ireland, several shoots are grow- 
ing from one stem ; cattle are allowed to graze 
amongst them, and browse on the tender shoots ; 
yet I dare say there is a person dignified with the 
pompous title of wood-ranger. 

The most extensive plantations (they can scarcely 
be called woods) are at Cratilow, near Limerick; 
they are divided as follows: 

Acres, 
Mr. Henry O'Brien, - 300 

Lord Conyngham, - 170 

Marquis of Headfort, - 130 

Colonel Monsell, 80 

Mr. Blood and Mr. Creagh, 100 

780 
They are all under a wretched system of ma- 
nagement : the greater part (indeed I believe all) 
are grazed ; many are filled with stunted oak, with 
several shoots growing from one stool, and multitudes 
of birch occupying the place, where that valuable 
tree, larch, would flourish ; but birch being the 
natural production of the soil, and raised without 
trouble to the wood- ranger, is permitted to remain, 
by the proprietors, who never see them. I am in- 
formed, that nearly one half of the trees are of this 
kind ; what the loss is to the proprietor may be easily 
estimated, when it is known, that a birch tree at 
2 N forty 



274 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



forty years' growth would not be worth more than 
about ten shillings, allowing for the decrease in value 
where the quantity in one place is above 700 acres ; 
whilst larch of the same age would be well worth 
from three to four guineas. Now supposing only 
500 trees to be changed on each acre, it would 
make the following difference in favour of the larch, 
valued at only Zl. ; besides, there never can be too 
many larch for the demand, so near water car- 
riage, and as foreign timber is growing daily dearer, 

500 larch, at 5s. «£.150O 

500 birch, at 10s. 250 



.£.1250 
Multiplied by only 700 



,£.875,000 
This becomes a serious consideration to a man, 
who looks forward to his family. If I have valued 
the birch too low, any deduction can be made; 
at the same time from the price, that foreign tim- 
ber is now sold for, and the uncertainty of a future 
supply from the North of Europe, it is much more 
probable, that the larch would be worth 5l. per tree, 
which would make the difference not less than the 
enormous sum of 1,575,000/. I am well convinced 
that, if larch had been planted in these extensive 
woods instead of oak, for which much of the ground 
is very unfit, the profit would be superior, to a very 

large 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 275 

large amount.* I do not suppose there is in the 
whole of these woods a single tree, that could be 
called timber, or ever likely to be such; this predi- 
lection for oak in every kind of soil, where larch 
or ash would thrive much better, has occasioned 
an immense loss to individuals, and to the country 
at large. From the above sketch some little idea 
may be formed, what the aggregate loss of Ireland 
has been, by planting oak on stony shallow soils. 

Many gentlemen are planting a little ornamen- 
tally, but the gentlemen, whom I have before men- 
tioned, are amongst the very few, who have planted 
for posterity. 

Pine-aster is particularly to be recommended for 
exposed situations ; it stands singly opposed to the 
western winds, where every other kind is either 
killed, or injured, and I have every reason to think, 
from the exposed situations, in which fir timber 
has been found buried, that it is this species of pine, 
and not Scotch fir, as generally imagined. 

In the excellent Survey of Londonderry, p. 424, 

Mr. Sampson recommends the black sallow, (salex 

caprea,) for its great hardiness in situations exposed 

2 N 2 to 

* Strabo mentions larch 8 feet in diameter ; and in Gilpin's Forest 
Scenery, vol. 1. p, ^4, it is stated, that larch 120 feet long are floated 
from Valais through the lake of Geneva, and down the 7 Rhone, to 
supply ships of war with masts. For a full account of this invaluable 
tree I refer the reader to Dr, Anderson's Essays, p. 220, Dublin 
edition. 



276 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

to the north-west wind ; Norway maple is also re- 
markably hardy.* In the county of Sligo, the Ca- 
rolina poplar (populus angulata) bears the blast from 
the Atlantic ocean better than most trees ; near 
Dublin, the tender shoots are very frequently injured 
by frost. 

There were formerly extensive orchards in this 
county, especially near Six-mile-bridge, and a 
few still remain ; many young apple-trees have 
been lately planted. Very fine cider is made 
here from a great variety of kinds mixed in the 
pressing, and not, as is generally imagined, from 
caccagea or any particular sort ; apples are fre- 
quently purchased in the county of Limerick and 
elsewhere, and manufactured into cider: it is in 
such deserved repute, that it is generally bought 
up by the neighbouring gentlemen for their own use 
and as presents to their friends, the price usually 
about five guineas per hogshead. I have frequently 
drank this cider after being kept four years in 
bottle. I do not know, that there is any thing 
peculiar in the mode of making ; if there is, any 
inquiries would only lead to error, as every maker 
has secrets, that he will not divulge, but I believe 
the grand secret lies in having the apples ripe, 
free from any taint, and in preventing every fer- 
mentation 

* I found two or three varieties of sallows growing in the rocks 
on the coast near Miltown-Malbay, exposed to every blast from the 
Atlantic. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 277 

mentation but the first, or saccharine one, and 
in bottling it at this period, and preventing the 
smallest mixture of the sediment. 



Sect. 17. State of the effects of encouragement here- 
tofore given by the Dublin Society, particularised, 
in the annexed list, and any improvement, which 
may occur for future encouragement, particularly 
for the preservation of trees when planted. 

TtjE following gentlemen received premiums for 
planting from the Dublin Society in the years an* 
nexed to their names: 

James Molony, Esq. in 1785, 1786, 1789, 1793, 
and 1794 ; his plantations have been well preserved. 

Sir Joseph Peacock for planting oak, now com- 
pletely destroyed by cattle. 

The late Charles M< Donne], Esq. 1789 ; well pre* 
served and flourishing. 

Robert O'Hara, Esq, 179Q and 1791 ; well pre- 
served and beautiful. 

Boyle Vandeleur, Esq, 1795 ; well enclosed, and 
very thriving. 

There are some trifling plantations mentioned in 
the list of premiums granted, that I did not see, par- 
ticularly for raths, which I confess I never wish to 
see planted, whilst they are permitted to retain 
their present round shape ; the money granted for 

the 



278 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

the above premiums amounts to 403/. Is. 5d., and 
seems to have been very justly expended, except 
that given to Sir Joseph Peacock in 1793, whose 
plantation has been quite ruined by cattle, if it was 
the one, that was shewn to me in the barony of 
Tullagh. I beg leave to suggest that, as the public 
mind is now sufficiently pointed to the subject, and 
the value of plantations so well ascertained, a dis- 
continuance of these premiums, and the converting 
of the fund to some other beneficial purpose, would 
be eligible. 

I beg also to mention, that giving a premium 
for oak without limiting, or at least advising the 
proper soil, is so much money thrown away; for 
some of the plantations I have seen are upon dry, 
rocky, shallow hills, where larch would have been 
infinitely more valuable. 

What a reproach to the county, that in twenty- 
five years, one of such extent, and where trees are 
so much wanting, has had only ninety-six acres 
planted ! It may be said, that this is only the 
-quantity, that were planted for premiums, but I am 
convinced there has been very little more planted 
to the year 1795 ; of what has been planted since 
I, have no account; but, except the plantations of 
Sir Edward O'Brien, Bindon Blood, Esq. and Wil- 
liam Burton, Esq. the number is very small indeed. 

Whilst 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 279 

Whilst a whole county in twenty-five years has had 
only ninety-six acres planted, an individual in Scot- 
land has, in fifteen years, planted 3005^ acres. We 
learn from the Transactions of the Society of Arts, 
that the Earl of Fife planted the following trees 
in fifteen years, viz. 



Oak, 


196,973 


Larch, 


181,813 


Ash, - 


57,500 


Elm, - 


55,600 


Sweet chesnut, 


64,100 


Beech, 


192,679 


Sycamore, - 


50,000 


Birch, 


231,813 


Alder, 


31,500 


Hazel, 


47,200 


Laburnum, 


51,100 


Poplar, 


|0 ; 000 


Willow, 


15,000 


Spruce fir, - 


10,000 


Silver fir, 


10,000 


Scotch fir, - 


- 3,668,420! 



Total, 4,874,198 
The first thing, that strikes me on this amazing 
extent of planting, is the immense loss, that must 
accrue to the heirs of Lprd Fife from planting such 

* a large 



s$o 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



a large proportion of Scotclr fir,* ami other trees 
of inferior value to larch. The following list shews 
it at one view. 

Scotch fir - 3,668,420 

Birch, - - 231,813 

Hazel, - - 47,200 

Poplar, - - 10,000 



3,957,433 
By referring to the remarks on the woods of Cra- 
tilow, p. 273, some estimate may be formed of the 
many hundred thousand pounds Lord Fife's heirs will 
lose by this erroneous method of planting. 

We are gratified also with the measurement of 
some of the trees at twenty- five years growth, 
taken three feet from the ground. f 



SOIL. 


tlirids of 
trees. 


Length of 
trunk. 


Height. 


Circumference 3ft. 
from the ground. 


Loam and clay bottom, 

Light black earth, 

Heavy wet ground , 

Dry sandy soil, ... 

Good heavy loam, < 


; Oak. 
E!m. 
Ash. 
Beech. 
Larch. 
Silver fir. 


Feet. 
12 
13 
20 
14 


Feet. 
25 to 30 
30 to 35 
35 to 40 
30 to 35 

46 

44* ... 


Feet. 
2 

5 

3 
3 
6 
6 


Inches. 

H 

4 
9 
8 

3 ; 
8 



The 

* Previous to the year 1788, when these trees were planted, Scotch 
fir was quite the rage in Scotland, hut, since that, larch has as- 
sumed its deservedly high rank amongst timber trees. 

f It would be exceedingly useful, if this distance from the ground 
was the established standard, as many errors are committed by 
measuring nearer to the ground. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 281 

The superiority of the iarch is conspicuous here, 
and in a soil not the best adapted for it, a heavy 
loam, as also the great inferiority of the oak in a 
soil well adapted to it. 

These plantations were well enclosed with walls, 
measuring in length upwards of forty English miles.* 

When I inform my readers, that the Earl of 
Egremont, Marquis of Thomond, Lord Conyngham, 
Marquis of Buckingham, Lord Milton, Mr. O'Brien, 
Mr. Westby, and a long etcetera of absentees have 
thousands of acres of waste land, as capable of being 
planted as Lord Fife's estate, what will they think ? 



Sect. 18. State of nurseries in the county, and 
extent of sales. 

There is a small one at Newhall in the barony of 
Islands, and another has been lately established near 
Kiltannon by Mr. Molony's late gardener ; as it is 
only in its infancy, the sales are but trifling; when 
completed, it will be of great use to the country : 
the proprietor has been for many years in England, 
and pays great attention to the propagation of the 
2 o best 

* If to the loss Lord Fife sustains, by planting trees of inferior 
Talue, is added that he will suffer by planting only 1230 trees on, 
the acre (Scotch) instead of 6000 or 7000, the amount will be asto- 
nishing ; not only from ground unoccupied by trees, but from the 
inferior value of the Scotch fir, whilst permitted to grow into large 
side bianches, that will produce timber, all knots, and of little value. 



232 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

best kinds of fruit trees; but to the disgrace of the 
county he already begins to complain of want of 
punctuality in payments ; strange, that this disgrace 
should attach to the gentlemen of the county, who 
are so wealthy! but it is the well-founded complaint 
of every nurseryman in Ireland ; I have had a severe 
trial of it myself formerly. At present trees are 
generally bought at the nurseries in the county of 
Galway, Limerick, or from Dublin, and many in 
Scotland, especially seedlings. No person, who in- 
tends to plant extensively, should depend on any nur^ 
sery but his own; the superiority is not so much in 
saving money, as in saving time, and in being certain 
that the plants do not lie any time out of the ground, 
and also that many kinds difficult to move can be 
carried with balls of earth to their roots, which en- 
sures their growth. This is particularly desirable 
in pine-aster, one of the most. valuable trees we 
possess in bleak exposures ; it is generally planted 
in small pots for the purpose of preserving the 
earth entire, which makes the planting of it on 
an extensive scale too expensive. It has been as- 
serted by a reverend gentleman, of some cejebrity 
as an improver of land, that every particle of mould 
should be carefully shaken off every species of tree 
previous to planting; every gardener's labourer 
knows, that as much as possible should be pre- 
served. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 283 

served. This is akin to an assertion of another 
gentleman, who insists that cattle and sheep are 
not fond of white clover ! 



Sect. 19. Price of timber, and state of it in the 
i county. 

Ash, from 2s. 6d. to 5s* per foot. 

Oak, very little (if any) to cut, that could be sold 
by the foot. 

Elm, very little, from 3s. to 4s. per foot. 

Beech, from 3s. to 4s. per foot. 

Couples for cabins, from 2s. 6d. to 5s. 

Stretchers or thevauns, ten or twelve feet long, from 
5s. to 6s. per dozen. 

Oak stakes to support the wattling of eel- weirs, from 
5s. to 6s. per dozen. 

Oak wattles for eel- weirs, from 5s. to 10s. per hun- 
dred ; they are usually split down the middle, 
and are generally brought from Tinneranna to 
Killaloe. 

Sallows for making baskets, 2s. 2d. per hundred.* 

Scollops of hazel, &c. 6d. per hundred. 

Pair of baskets for a horse, which a man will make 
in a day, 2s. 3d. 

2 o 2 A turf- 

* About 200 sallows of two years' growth will make a turf-kish 
of a cubic yard. 



23* STATISTICAL SURVEY 

A turf-kisb, which he will make in a day, from 

4s. to 5s. 
A hurdle, seven feet long by five feet broad, from 

2s. 6d. to 4s. 4cL 
Tubs for butter, twenty-one inches, 4s. 4d. 
Do. nineteen inches, 3s. 9\d. 
Firkins, 3s. 9\d. 

Oak bark (1807) from 20/. to 22/. 155. per ton. 
Sallow and birch bark, 15/. per ton. 
In some places, birch bark only 8/. per ton. 
No price for mountain ash bark, its value not known 

by tanners. 

Bog timber consists of fir, oak, and yew, but 
chiefly fir and oak ; in red bogs fir is generally 
found, and in black bogs oak predominates. Fir 
timber is frequently found of very large dimensions ; 
most of the farmers' houses near bogs are roofed 
with this timber, which, if kept dry, is everlasting, 
and is always preferred to oak for inside work. A 
tree of this kind was lately found in a bog near 
Kilrush ; it was purchased by Mr. Patterson of that 
town for 14/. 9s. 6d. ; it measured at the thickest 
end thirty-eight inches in diameter, and at upwards 
of sixty-eight feet long, thirtv-one inches ; it was very 
fine sound timber, and produced him upwards of 
36/. ; by age and the action of the atmosphere it 
had lost so much of its original bulk, that the part 
preserved was merely the heart, and not near half 

its 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 2&5 

\ts original size. There was another of immense 
size lately found near Mount Callan ; I could not 
ascertain the dimensions, but was informed that, 
when a cross-cut saw of good length was brought, 
it was thicker than the saw was long. The man- 
ner of finding these trees in bogs is somewhat 
curious ; very early in the morning, before the dew 
evaporates, a man with a long small sharp spear 
goes into the bog, and, as the dew never lies on 
the part over the trees, be it ever so deep, he 
can ascertain their length, and on putting down his 
spear can easily find, whether they are sound or 
rotten ; if sound, he marks with a spade the spot 
ivhere they lie, and at his leisure proceeds to 
extricate them from their bed. 

A great number of Scotch fir in hedge-rows 
may be seen near Bridgetown, the estate of Cap- 
tain Brown. I only mention this to shew the ab- 
surdity of planting this tree in single rows; they 
are all knots and worth very little; however in a 
country so destitute of trees they have a chearful 
appearance. 

Alder is a timber generally despised; but, if it 
is of a sufficient age, it is little inferior to maho- 
gany ; it has many other perfections ; it makes the 
very best bolsters for cars, and for bushing the eye 
of the lower mill-stone round the spindle, as it never 
takes fire by friction; when used for handles for. 

tools 



m STATISTICAL SURVEY 

tools it does not blister the bands ; and the leaves 
and bark are so disagreeable to cattle, that they 
never brawze on it. 

Sect. 20. Quantity of bog and waste ground — the 
possibility and means of improving ihem y and the 
obstacles to their improvement. 

Bog forms in some baronies a very large parfe 
of the surface, principally in those of Tullagb, 
Moyferta, Ibrickan, and Clounderalaw ; in the rocky 
barony of Bnrrin as great a scarcity prevails, in so 
much that they are obliged in the maritime parts 
to import turf from Cunnamara. In flat situations 
bog is many feet deep, but that produced on moun- 
tains is not generally so deep, running from one 
foot to four or five: the bogs are all capable of 
improvement, at a moderate expence, particularly 
those situated on mountains. In the baronies of 
Ibrickan and Moyferta there are several miles square 
of bog, reaching from near Kilrush to Dunbeg. As 
there is water carriage for boats of thirty or forty 
tons to the head of Poulanisherry harbour, near 
three miles from the Shannon, lime could be easily 
brought by the boats, that supply Limerick from 
that place with turf for fuel. 

The limestone could be brought back from As- 
keaton and Aghenish, and laid down for about a 

shilling 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 287 

shilling per ton in the midst of this region of bog ; 
this, if the stone is good, will make about six 
barrels of lime ; breaking the stone and burning \\d. 
per barrel; the fuel a mere trifle; so that, if the 
boat carries only thirty tons, two acres of ground 
may be reclaimed for ever by each cargo ; calcu- 
lations are always liable to error, but every person 
can make deductions or additions, as circumstances 
may direct. In the county of Wexford, lime is pur- 
chased with avidity at 3s. y\d. per ton, and drawn 
into the country twelve or fourteen miles, and fre- 
quently it is brought on horses' backs ; and we are 
informed in the Survey of Wexford, p. 97, ii that 
\ ( the poor people on the borders of Mount Lein- 
" ster have a journey to go for their lime, which 
" occupies them two days. With a poor wretched 
" horse they go in this manner to the lime-kilns, 
Ci bringing a barrel of lime at a time ; and this 
" journey they repeat forty times, in order to bring 
" forty barrels for manuring an acre of this land.'* 
Will it be believed in the county of Wexford, that 
a rich county of Clare farmer refused to draw it 
a mile on a good road, to improve a mountain, 
farm, where he had turf to burn it on the spot, 
and nothing to be paid for the stone ? 

Many would speculate on these bogs, but thev" 
are either leased, and thrown in as useless with 
other lands ; or, where they are not leased, though 

acknowledged 



2SS STATISTICAL SURVEY 

acknowledged by the proprietors to be totally un- 
productive, and not worth a shilling an acre, yet 
these gentlemen, when applied to, will not give such 
lease as will encourage a monied man to venture 
his property on their improvement, nor will they 
improve them themselves; this dog in the manger 
disposition prevails in every part of Ireland, and 
has retarded the improvement of bog more than 
all other obstacles put together. 

Between Cahirmurphy and Kilmaley many miles 
square are almost without inhabitants; in a ride 
of upwards of eight miles I saw only one bird, a 
kite; yet the greater part of this dreary waste 
could be cultivated, and the entire could be planted ; 
if judiciously executed, and on a large scale, this 
could be done for a moderate sum, and would be, 
an immense property in a few years. In the few 
spots, where the ground has been cultivated by 
some herds, excellent crops are produced. 

In the barony of Tullagh many advances toward* 
improvement have been made by small farmers pro- 
pagating rape, but scarcely any one thinks of drain- 
ing, or improving by a top-dressing of lime, lime- 
stone-gravel, or marie, which in many places are 
to be had in any quantity ; but there is no im- 
provement carried on by any person of property 
on a scale sufficiently large to deserve notice, nor 
have I indeed in any part of Ireland observed a 

systematic 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 289 

systematic and steady pursuit of this valuable im- 
provement; it has been a mere spurt, and pro- 
bably would never have been thought of, if some 
professional man had not happened to come into 
the neighbourhood. 

Shortly after the celebrated Mr. Elkington came 
to Ireland, we could hear of nothing but the ab- 
solute certainty of draining immense tracts of bog 
by means of a few auger-holes ; the bog of Allen 
was a mere trifle; but it was found, that the old 
method pursued by all those, who have made this 
their study, of intercepting the water from higher 
ground, was the chief mode adopted by him, and 
the auger only an occasional assistant ; and what he 
complained of I have often experienced, that most 
Irish gentlemen soon grow tired of the expence, 
and expect that, the moment a bog is drained, it 
must become green ; this it was, that disgusted Mr. 
Elkington with Irish gentlemen, Mho, he found, al- 
ways had their ears open to some follower or wise* 
man of the old school, who constantly attended at 
their elbow, and set their faces against any new 
improvement they did not understand, or of which 
they were not the advisers. This Irish practice 
has gone so far in some places, as to oblige Mr. 
Hill, the intelligent drainer to the Farming Society 
of Ireland, to refuse to act where he will not be 
2 p permitted 



290 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

permitted to finish his drains by Ins own men , 
otherwise they would be stopped, from interested 
motives, the practice decried, and bis character in- 
jured. 1 have frequently told a gentleman's wise- 
man what I intended to do for the improvement of 
the place, (I detest the idea of professional secrets,) 
and next day, in walking over the ground with 
both parties, I have heard my ideas detailed with 
great composure,, as the production of his own brain, 
and poor I was thrown completely into the shade, 
whilst at dinner the master exulted in having such 
a clever man; disgust would not let me come to 
any explanation, and I have generally left them 
to enjoy each other. 

It is curious to hear the objections made to the 
drainage of bogs; frequently it is said by those, 
whoso education should give them more enlightened 
ideas, that it would be impossible to drain some 
bogs, that it would take half a century to drain 
them, that they never would repay the expence, 
with numberless objections equally groundless. I 
never saw a bog, that could not be drained, other- 
wise it would be a lake ; the chief difficulty lies 
in obtaining the consent of different proprietors 
tQ join in the drainage, or permit a cut to be 
made through their ground ; and, until an act of 
parliament is obtained to oblige proprietors of land 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 291 

to permit an outlet to be cut through their lands, 
on paying the damage, to be ascertained by a jury, 
extensive drainages or irrigation will never be ef- 
fected. J beg leave to press this on the compre- 
hensive mind of the Right Hon. Mr. Foster, as one 
of great national benefit, as it is highly probable, 
that extensive speculations will be made on this 
most necessary improvement in a country pos- 
sessing so many hundred thousand acres of bog and 
mountain. To improve bogs on a large scale, com- 
panies must be formed, and something like the 
mode of conducting canals must be pursued, and 
permanent sets of men constantly employed ; the 
petty mode at present pursued, where perhaps at 
the most ten acres are drained in a season, (with 
no small shrre of exultation even on this patch,) will 
not alter the face of the country for several cen- 
turies. The bog of Allen, containing between two 
and three hundred thousand acres, forms but a 
small part of those of Ireland. I have been fur- 
nished with many statements, aided by my own 
experience, of the expence and profit of this 
improvement in various parts of Ireland ; and the 
general result has been, that, at least in the third 
year, often the first, all expences are paid, and land, 
for which no rent could be obtained, has become 
worth from one to two guineas per acre. It is asto- 
nishing, that monied men, who are daily pn the 
2 P 2 watch 



292 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

watch to purchase land, should be so blind to their 
own interest and to that of their posterity, as to 
lay out money at six per cent., often less, instead 
of improving their own bogs, absolutely creating 
land, and receiving at least ten per cent, for money, 
which they have in their pockets. 

When a monied man is about to purchase an 
estate, instead ©f procuring the assistance of some 
person of skill in land and its capabilities to view 
it, as practised in England, and point out where 
perhaps great improvement may be made at a 
moderate expence, being totally ignorant of the 
quality of land himself, he perhaps employs some 
person, who knows more about drawing leases than 
draining ground, to inspect it; the report being 
favourable, and the title clear, he closes the bar- 
gain, leaving the improvement of the estate to 
those, who from want of either means or skill, or 
perhaps of a lease of sufficient length, leave that 
ground, which under a judicious drainage, and gra- 
velling or liming, might be made of ten times its 
present value, a mere caput mortuum at the ter- 
mination of the lease ; and to encrease the evil, 
perhaps one thousand acres of bog or mountain 
are thrown in with the farm as of no value, which 
perhaps an expenditure of 500/. would make worth 
annually 1000/., and the crops cultivated during 
the improvement, very probably, would pay njuch 

more 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 293 

more than all the expences ; whilst in the hands 
of the tenant it produces little or no profit to him, 
nor rent to the landlord. 

A considerable quantity of turf is brought from 
Poulanisberry to Limerick, though a water carriage 
of upwards of forty miles; for this purpose, im- 
mense ricks are always ready on the shore; some- 
times the boats bring back limestone from Askeaton 
or Aghnish, but merely for the purpose of those 
buildings, that are advancing so rapidly in Kilrush ; 
none is brought for the improvement of the im- 
provement of the immense bogs, from which they 
dig the turf. It is a curious circumstance that, 
within a few yards of the rocky shore at Spanish 
point near Miltown Mai bay, several feet of good 
turf may be cut, and equally so, that long before 
this it has not been reclaimed by the sand, which 
is within a few perches of it. 

Although very great quantities of ground have 
been taken from the Shannon and Fergus, including 
all the rich corcasses, yet a very large portion 
still remains under the dominion of the water; 
Sir Edward O'Brien and Mr. Colpoys have it in 
contemplation to embank upwards of one hundred 
acres; I saw the ground, and do not entertain a 
doubt of its practicability, the water, I understand, 
not rising more than about seven feet in spring 
tides. It is to be hoped that, when they do re- 
claim 



294 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

claim it, ft will not be in the same wretched, un- 
stable, unscientific manner, that such works are 
usually effected here ; they will also, I trust, make 
the necessary preparations for depositing the sedi- 
ment of the rich waters of the Shannon and Fergus, 
as practised with such great success in England, 
where it is called warping or silting, by which in 
a very short period they would raise the surface 
of the ground many feet higher than it is at pre- 
sent, and greatly facilitate the drainage. The 
word warping is applied in agriculture to describe 
that species of irrigation, which deposits a quantity 
of sediment from the flowing tide, and which forms 
a stratum of soil or manure, when the waters have 
receded from it. This definition of the word ap- 
pears to be chiefly limited to tide-water flowing 
from the sea, though the nature of the accumu- 
lation seems to be nearly the same with the siltage 
of fresh-water rivers, the redundancy of which, by 
way of distinction, is called flooding. The expence 
of warping will be greatly influenced by the situ- 
ation of the lands, and the course and distance, 
which the warp is to be conducted. The expence 
per acre will depend greatly on the extent of land, 
which may be overflowed by one and the same set of 
drains and doughs. Mr. Day of Doncaster thinks, 
that great quantities of land may be warped at so 
small an expence as from four to eight pounds per 

English 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 295 

English acre ; and he states the advantages gained at 
various rates, from five to fifty pounds per acre* 
and considers the greatest advantage to arise from 
warping the worst and most porous land. Mr. Young, 
in his Survey of Lincoln, says, " the warp raises 
" the ground in one summer from six to eighteen 
i( inches thick, and in hollow, or low places, two, 
(i three, or ' four feet, so as to leave the whole 
" piece level. " For a further account of this va- 
luable improvement, see my Observations on the 
Coun y of Dublin Survey, page 89 of the Appendix. 
It is necessary to remark, that the expence of ex- 
ecuting this work in England includes the em- 
bankment as well as every thing else; but, as Sir 
Edward O'Brien and Mr. Colpoys mean to do this 
without any reference to warping, it should not 
be charged to that improvement, but merely the 
expence of two sluices, perhaps 5s. per acre. 

The bog and lake of Fenlow could be easily 
drained and improved, by deepening a small stream, 
that runs to Baliycar ; but, though the proprietors 
have offered almost a carte blanche to the owner 
of the stream, he obstinately persists in a refusal; 
the stream is so very insignificant, that for the 
greater part of the year it would scarcely supply 
a grist or tuck-mill ; yet a flour-mill on a large 
scale is in contemplation, and can never succeed, 
whilst the river Ougarnee is so very near. Can 

any 



tie 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



any thing point out more plainly the necessity of 
an act to oblige proprietors of ground to permit 
drains for the general accommodation to run through 
their grounds ? If canal companies had heen left 
to the caprice or ill nature of individuals, we should 
not at this day have one of these noble works 
in' either Ireland or England. 

The great scene of improvement, (and which 
shews, what tenants will do when they get leases 
on moderate terms,) are the mountains between Kil- 
laloe and Broadford; the soil is a thin argillaceous 
one, on slate, mostly covered with short heath ; it 
is usually let by the bulk to tenants, who have 
improved ground adjoining; they generally divide 
them into small farms, and let them at an advanced 
rent after they have improved them ; for which 
purpose they commonly burn the surface, (if the 
landlord is not weak enough to prevent it,) and 
lime or marie, and plant potatoes ; then a crop of 
barley for the private stills, after that a crop of 
oats; by this time they have accumulated manure, 
and begin to plant their potatoes in drills. It has 
become frequent lately, from the great increase of 
population, to give small portions of their grounds 
to sons and daughters on their marriage. It is, 
with a few exceptions, the only place in the county, 
where the cottagers have every appearance and 
reality of comfort and cleanliness ; their cottages 






OF THE COUNTYOF CLARE. 297 

are generally vveli thatched, and frequently white- 
washed, or at least the chimney, and always have 
half-doors to hang on in the day time, to keep 
out pigs, &c. &c, with cow-houses and pig-styes. 
How very different from the grazing parts of the 
county, where poverty and filth may always be 
seen in great perfection, even at the very gates 
of many wealthy graziers ! I am inclined to at- 
tribute something deleterious to the grazing sys- 
tem ; look to all the rich lands in Ireland ; do we 
not see in the proprietors the same indifference 
to the comfurts of the cottiers? In the mountains 
above-mentioned Mr. Arthur of Glenomera obliges 
his tenants to lime, at the rate of sixty or eighty 
barrels per acre ; the lime is brought from Donass, 
a distance of six miles, and costs the enormous 
sum of from 2s. 2d. to 25. 6d. per barrel, bad mea- 
sure. I suppose Mr. Arthur either allows them for 
the lime, or gives them the land on such terms as to 
encourage this expenditure. The harvest began 
here this year (1807) on the first of September, 
and was most abundant; and, contrary to the usual 
complaint of mountain oats, it ripened all together ; 
this may be justly attributed to the effect of cal- 
careous manures. In the mountains near Skarriff 
they lime and marl, but not with the spirit they 
do near Broadford. This may in some measure 
be accounted for ; they have all bishop's leases, a 
2 ft species 



298 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



species of tenure, that paralyses every exertion. 
Captain Hugh Brady allows his tenants any quan- 
tity of mountain, rent free, for twenty years, and 
also 30s. per acre for lime. The value of this 
manure is now becoming so well known, that the 
mountaineers carry it from O'Callaghan's mills, 
upwards of six miles. 



Sect. 21. Habits of industry, or want of it amongst 
the people. 



Habits of industry are chiefly confined to the 
lower order of farmers and cottiers; great exer- 
tions are often made by this class in removing 
stones, and collecting manure, too often from the 
sides of the roads. The women in the neighbour- 
hood of Corrofin and Innistymon are remarkably 
industrious, I wish I could say cleanly ; you will 
scarcely ever see one of them without a stocking 
in her hand, which she continues to knit whilst 
walking a quick pace to market; and even in the 
market-house, whilst selling or buying, her fingers 
are never idle. Almost all the wool made into 
friz* for the family is spun by the wife or daughters; 
their linen is also generally made at home. As to 
the industry of the wealthy graziers, it may be 
generally seen about their houses; it is not un~ 
frequent, that a man, who pays 2000/. a year rent, 
has scarcely a gate or fence about his house, a 

verv 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 299 

very indifferent garden, with nothing in it but cab- 
bages ; often no cow-house; a collar to tie up a 
horse in a stable is a rarity, and in summer oats 1 
or hay are equally so. The industry of the upper 
classes consists more in accumulating farm to farm, 
and dashing in full gallop from one to the other, 
than in a steady improvement of what they have 
already, though vastly more lucrative. The streets 
of Ennis are often crowded with young loungers, 
that had much better stay at home and endea- 
vour to redeem or at least improve that property, 
which the prodigality, or want of industry, of their 
ancestors has either deprived them of or encum- 
bered ; it would surely be more beneficial and 
amusing than the annoying the different shop- 
keepers with their " bald disjointed chat."* 

" There are many middlemen remaining in this 
" county, whose habitations and land may be easily 
" found by every mark of indolence ; such of 
" the windows, as are not stopped to evade the tax, 
" are small, with the few panes of glass remaining 
w either broken or their place supplied by paper, 
« or boards, or perhaps a rag or wisp of straw 
" or hay ; the inside corresponds with the outer 
" appearance ; decayed stairs, doors, and chimneys; 
2 q 2 « tlxe 

* Since writing the above, a coffee-room and billiard-table have 
fteen added to their amusements, which* have taken a good many out 
of the streets. 



300 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

" the ceilings of thin boards blackened by smoke 
" and dirt. The farm bears the same disgusting 
" appearance ; the gates and fences in ruin ; his 
** pastures and meadows bearing more rushes than 
V grass, and the meadows grazed until June ; his 
" stock perhaps a cow or two, with as many half- 
'* starved horses : it will scarcely be credited, that 
" men of this description have incomes of from 
" 100/. to 500/. a year arising from the industry of 
u poor cottiers." The gentleman, who was so kind 
as to favour me with the above faithful picture, 
very justly calls them the drones of society. Yet 
these are the men, to whom the great landed 
absentee proprietors are fond of setting their 
lands, in preference to a tenantry, who, however 
deficient in skill or capital, always pay more, 
and with greater punctuality than these pests 
of society. Where a middleman takes waste 
ground, and, after improving it, relets it in divi- 
sions according to each man's capital, and lives on 
the land, shewing by his example the most bene- 
ficial course of crops, encouraging his tenants by 
procuring for them on reasonable terms grass-seeds 
and corn of the best kinds, and keeping for their use 
males of every species of useful animal, then he 
becomes one of the most beneficial members of the 
community ; but such exceptions I fear are very 
few. It is painful to state that, if this last im- 
proving 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 301 

proving tenant's lease expired, the former wretch, 
on giving id. an acre more, would get the prefe- 
rence ; the highest bidder gets every thing from 
absentees, totally ignorant of what is going for- 
ward on their estates: and I presume to think, that 
a visit, and close inspection of their 'estates in 
Ireland, Would not only redound to their credit, 
but to the increase of their rent-roll. 

It is the fashion of the gentlemen, of this county 
to accuse the labourers of want of industry, and 
of laziness; when they are working for themselves, 
there is no appearance of it; indeed, when work- 
ing for others, at the low rates of wages they re- 
ceive, they are like all men of the same class 
throughout Ireland; they will do as little as they 
can. In my professional pursuits I have had men 
of every county in Ireland working under me, and 
1 have found, that the inhabitants of this county, 
and of Gal way, do more work, and without that 
sulkiness and familiar impevtinence (not proceeding 
from ignorance) of those in the neighbourhood of 
Naas, in the county of Kildarc, and of Athboy, 
in the county of Meath, the former of whom got 
nine shillings per week, and were constantly on 
the watch to take every advantage ; in short they 
were never satisfied with any thing. 

The hurling matches, called goals, are very in- 
jurious to the morals and industry of the younger 

classes ; 



:502 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

classes; after performing feats of activity, that 
uould astonish a bread and cheese Englishman, 
they too often adjourn to the whiskey- house, both 
men and women, and spend the night in dancing, 
singing, and drinking until perhaps morning, and 
too often quarrels and broken heads are the effects 
of this inebriety; matches are often made between 
the partners at the dance ; but it frequently hap- 
pens they do not wait for the priest's blessmg, and 
the fair one must apply to a magistrate, who ge- 
nerally obliges the faithless Strephon to make an 
honest woman of her. On the strand of Lehinch 
races for saddles and bridles are run almost every 
Sunday in summer, and the night generally con- 
cludes with dancing and drunkenness; thev are 

O 'J 

become a great nuisance to those of the inhabi- 
tants, who are christians. 

In general the people are remarkably peaceable, 
travelling at night being equally safe as in the 
<Jay. 

Sect. 22. Use of the English language, whether 
general, or how far increasing* 

There are very few, except in remote situa- 
tions, that do not at least understand a little Eng- 
lish, but from an apprehension of not speaking 
correctly they frequently pretend not to understand 

it: 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 303 

it: I have often heard them declare in good English, 
that they could not speak a word of it ; almost 
all the better kind of people speak Irish to the 
country people, but scarcely one of their sons is 
able to hold a conversation in this language ; of 
course in the next generation it may be expected, 
that almost every person in the county will use the 
English tongue, which would certainly be a de- 
sirable object, as the sooner we assimilate with the 
English in every respect, the more likely we are 
to forget ancient prejudices, and to adopt their 
improvements in agriculture, manufactures, and 
every useful science. That the English language 
is encreasing, it may be necessary to observe, that 
the children of almost all those, who can speak 
scarcely any thing but Irish, are proud of being 
spoken to in English, and answering in the same, 
even though you may question them in Irish. 

No Irish is spoken in any of the schools, and 
the peasantry are anxious to send their children 
to them for the purpose of learning English. I am 
informed very little pure Irish is spoken in this 
county, the present language being a jargon of 
Irish and English; therefore the sooner it is for-. 
p-otten* the better. The encouragement of schools 
by the distribution of good books, at a low price, 
(not gratis,) with ink and paper, would in a few 
years do wonders, in making the English language 

become 



304 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

become general. I do not recollect to have seen 
any of the useful little tracts, printed by the So- 
ciety for promoting the comforts of the poor, in 
this county; the clergy should attend to this, if 
not too troublesome. 

Sect. 23. decount of towers , castles, 5Cc*. or places 
remarkable for any historical event. 

The round towers, that have given rise to so 
many curious conjectures and disquisitions, are those 
cf: 

1. Scatter!/ Island. — This tower is about 120 feet 
high, and, though split almost from the top to the 
bottom by lightning, is still standing, and is a 
very beautiful object, and an useful land-mark to 
seamen. There are also in this island the ruins 
of a castle, several churches, and a monastery, 
said to be founded by St. Patrick, who placed 
St. Senan over it ; altogether they make a 
delightful landscape, viewed from Revenue-hill 
near Kilrush. This island is about three miles 
from the shore, and contains about 180 acres of 
choice land ; it was formerly the see of a bishop, 
and part of Thomond called Clare, but in the J 2th 
century was united to the see of Limerick. A 
priory was founded here by St. Senan in the Cth 
century, the monks of which were said to have 

been 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 305 

been so chaste, that they never even looked at a 
woman, nor did they even suffer one to land in 
the island. It is recorded in St. Senan's life, that 
during his residence in the island, (which was then 
called Inis Cathay,) a ship arrived there, bringing 
fifty monks, Romans by birth, who were drawn into 
Ireland by the desire of a more holy life and a 
knowledge of the scriptures. This island, called 
also Inisgatha or Inisga, the island in the sea, situ- 
ated in the mouth of the Shannon, one of the 
most convenient harbours for the Danish and Nor- 
wegian invaders, who generally came north about 
round Scotland, was for a long time a bone of 
contention between them and the Irish, and from 
the multitude of those round forts, said to be thrown 
up by the Danes* in the adjoining parishes in the 
west of Clare, it is likely, that the Danes were 
very strong in this quarter. 

From the Annals of Munster, Act. 55. p. 542, 
we learn, that in the year 975 Brien Boroimhe 
king of Munster, at the head of twelve hundred 
Dalgais troops, assisted by Domnhall king of Joam- 
huein, recovered the island of Iniscattery from the 
Danes, by defeating Jomhar,f the Norman, and 
his two sons Amhlaib and Duibheann. Eight hun- 
2 r dred 

* They were erected long before the inroads of the Danes. 
f The two words Joamhuchi. and lomkar, should have been Toa-v^ 
kuein, and Tomhar. \ 



306 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

dred of the Danes, who fled thither for safety some 
time before, were slain in this battle. From this 
and other battles in Scattery, together with its con- 
taining formerly eleven churches and the priory, 
all with church-yards, some of which are popular 
burial-places to this day, the entire soil of this 
island is strewed with fragments of human bones. 
In some places, where the sea has worn away the 
cliff perpendicularly, a stratum of bones is visible, 
six or seven feet from the surface of the soil. 
The monument of St. Senan is still shewn here, 
and in the stone, that closes the top of the altar 
window of the largest church, is the head of the 
saint, with his mitre ; it is somewhat defaced. 

There is also a holy well in this island, resorted 
to by great numbers of devotees, who, as they term 
it, take their rounds about it annually on their 
bare knees, and it is a frequent practice for those, 
who cannot conveniently perform this penance, to 
pay at this and other holy wells a trifling gra- 
tuity to some person to perform this ceremony for 
them ; I have known a woman to make a trade 
of this mummery. 

The common people have a great veneration for 
this island and its ruins ; they carry pebbles taken 
from it as preservatives against shipwreck, and the 
boatmen will not navigate a boat, that has not taken 
a round about Scattery in a course opposite the 

sun. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 307 

sun. They believe, that St. Senan or Shannon, as 
they call him, killed a desperate monster in this 
island, the stone image of which is still (to the 
disgrace of the priest and well informed Catholics) 
preserved in the gable of the Roman Catholic chapel 
of Kilrush over the altar, 

2. Drumklecve, in the barony of Islands, and pa- 
rish of Drumkleeve, (omitted in Ledwich's Epitome 
of the Antiquities of Ireland.) About fifty feet re- 
main at present; it is, as usual with all those towers, 
situated to the N. W. of the church ; there is a 
moulding round the door, which is about twenty 
■feet from the ground ; the mortar quite worn away 
on the west side, but perfectly good on the east; 
on the west side about twenty-four feet from the 
ground there is a. window, and about ten feet higher 
is a larger ne ; there is another window on the 
east side. 

3. Dysert; called Dysert O'Dea, (from being 
in the ancient territory of the O'Dea's,) in the 
barony of Inchiquin, and parish of Dysert : 
about thirty feet of this tower remain ; about 
twenty feet from the ground there is a door, and 
about ten feet higher the remains of another, at 
each of which the dimensions of the tower dimi- 
nished. Remains of windows at different heights 
are seen, by which it seems to be quite different 
from some other towers, that have windows only 

2 R 2 at 



308 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



at or near the summit, as that of Kildare, and many 
other places; the workmanship also seems to be dif- 
ferent from that of many others. It must be evident, 
that these towers were built at different periods, and 
for perhaps very different purposes ; the most rude 
at remote, and those, in which ornaments have been 
attempted, many centuries after : that at Dysert has 
on the outside of the second story the remains of 
a projecting flag, like our modern belting course, 
running round the building a nd about eight inches 
broad ; it also appears to have had battlements. 

4. Kilnaboy, in the barony of Inchiquin, and pa- 
rish of Kilnaboy ; about ten feet only remain ; 
consequently, according to the general mode of 
building them, neither door nor window appears ;* 
it stands to the north-west of the old church of 
Kilnaboy. 

5. Iniscuilire. — This tower stands in Lough- 
deirgeart, a part of the Shannon, near Sk^rriff, in 
the barony of Tullagh, sometimes called Holy- 
island, and frequently the island of the seven 
churches : this was formerly celebrated as a burial- 
place, and for performing certain religious cere- 
monies, in so much that, so late as forty years 
ago, 10/. were annually paid, as rent for the ferry, 
to an ancestor of Mr. Wood of Mount Shannon ; 
it contains twenty-four acres, at present rented by 

Mr. 



* This tower has not been noticed by Dr. Beaufort or Dr. Ledwicb. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 



309 



Mr. O'Callaghan at 39/. per annum. Red-islaud 
near it contains four acres, and Bushy-island six 
acres. 



CASTLES. 


The barony of Burrin 


contains the castles of 


Ballyvaughan, 


Glaniny — inhabited, 


Banroe, 


Gragans, 


Bally murphy, 


Lisselissey, 


Bally nacraggy, 


Muckenish, 


Ballygannor, 


Newtown — a roundcasilt 


Cappagh, 


on a square base. 


Castletown-— inhabited, 


Turlogh. 


Corcomroe contains 


Ballynalacken, 


Kiltoral, 


Glassie, 


Inchevehy, 


Dunmacfelim, 


Glarin, 


Doonamore, 


Dough, 


Ballyhanny, 


Liscanor, 


Cahircallaghan, 


Derrymore, 



Smith's-town — inhabited, Ballyheragh. 



Inchiquin contains 
Cloneseleherny, Bunnycapaun, 

Cluanuhan, Derryowen, 

Carrownegowly, Kilkeedy, 



Lemenagh, 



SiO STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Lemenagh, — a girl fell Ballyportrea — inhabited, 

from the top of this cas- Mahre, 

tie ; she killed a pig, on Dromore, 

which she fell, and was Port, 

herself not hurt. Cra^magher, 

Kilnaboy, Dysert — inhabited, 

Inchiquin, Moygowna, 

Tiermacbran, Shally, 

Two at Rath, one not no- Ballygriffy, 

ticed by Mr. Pelham in Killinamonagh. 

his map. 

Islands contains 
Clare, Ballyhorege. 

Bally nicudagh, 

Clounderalaw contains 
Clounderalaw, Dangan, 

Donogoroge, Crownaghan, 

Red-gap, Horse-island, 

Colesmanstown, Cahirmurphy. 

Bunratty contains 

Bryans, Dromoland, 

Clooney, Monane, 

Fergus, — inhabited, and Orlen, 
lately white-washed ! Cleynagh, 

Cnapoge, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 



311 



CJnapoge — the masonry of Bunratty, 
the stairs of black marble, Clonloghan, 



uncommonly neat. 
Raffolan, 
Corbally, 
Danganbrack, 
Dromore, 
Ballymarkanagh, 
Granaghan, 
Ballynacraggy, 
Ralahine,* 



Smithstown, 

Craggalough, 

Henry, 

Cratilow, 

Ballinflea, 

Castletown, 

Drumon, 

Meelick, 

Druinline, 



Tullagrh contains 



Fortanmore, 

Teredagh, 

Tomgrany, 

Ballynahinch, 

Cahir, 

Inismahon, 

Miltown, 

Coolreathj, 

Lissefin, 

Ballykeely, 

Mountallion^ 



Terenane, 

Kilkisshen, 

Rossroe, 

Mountcashel, 

Cappagh, 

Truigh, 

Arrighnamore, 

Newtown, 

Rinnuagh, 

Coolisteage, 

Monegenagh. 



Moyferta 



# The Duke of Ormond was entertained here by an ancestor of 
Boyle Vandeleur, Esq. j on an ancient chimney-piece there Mas " Feat" 
<9od, and remember the poor," in bas-relief 



312 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Moyferta contains 
X>oonlickey, Scattery, 

Carrigaholt — inhabited, Cloghansevan. 

Ibrickan contains 
Dunmore — inhabited, Donogan, 
Dunbeg, Oarrush, 

Trumree, Moy. 

Of these 118 castles, tradition says, the family 
of Macnamara built 57. It will not be expected, 
that a description be given of every petty castle, 
which the feuds of ancient days made necessary 
to protect usurpations and robberies, or of those nu- 
merous small castellated houses, dignified with the 
name of castle, which were built by the English 
settlers in Queen Elizabeth's and other reigns, to 
defend them against the just resentment of the 
natives ; and though some individuals may be anxious, 
that an account of them should be detailed, it is 
probable few of the accounts would tend to the 
credit of the former possessors, and that they would 
hurt the feelings of the present ones ; besides, as 
much of the information is traditional, little depen- 
dance can be placed on any account handed down 

by those, who were necessarily partial.* 

Near 

* 1 understand a gentleman of the county intends shortly to fa- 
vour the public with a history of them t 1 wisA him a good deli- 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 313 

Near Raheens, built in the water, may be 
seen the castle, into which some ruffians conveyed 
a young lady, with intent to force her to marry 
one of them ; she was immediately rescued by 
Henry Brady, Esq. of Raheens, and restored to her 
friends in perfect safety. A tender-hearted jury 
acquitted them of the felony. 

Bunratty castle, anciently the seat of the Earls 
of Thomond, is one of the largest in the county, 
and is inhabited by Thomas Studdert, Esq. ; it was 
built in 1277, and was either rebuilt or added to 
by Sir Thomas de Clare in 1597; it was besieged 
in 1305 bdt not taken; marks of cannon-shot are 
very visible in different parts of the wall, and se- 
veral cannon balls have been found, one of which 
weighed 39lbs. ; there was a small town here for- 
merly ; it was burned in 1314. 

\ EATHS. 
These abound in every part of the county ; they 
are generally of a round form, and are composed 
of either large stones without mortar, or earth thrown 
up and surrounded by one or more ditches, on which 
was formerly placed a stake hedge ; they are usually 
ascribed to the Danes, but it is highly probable 
many of them are of much more ancient origin, 
and that they have only been made use of by the 
Danes in their predatory incursions into this country, 
2 s who, 



5U STATISTICAL SURVEY 

who, finding their usefulness, may have imitated 
them ; for, as they were easily formed, they an- 
swered the purposes of free-booters, who only came 
for the purpose of plunder. In General Vallan- 
cey's Prospectus of an Irish Dictionary the fol- 
lowing explanation occurs: " The word rath sig- 
" nifies security, surety; see mal, riches, and ma- 
" ladair, a landholder. We find by the Breitham- 
" huin laws, when a man was worth a certain num- 
M ber of cattle to be security to the chief for 
" payment of the rent of a large tract of land, 
" which might be set to others, he was obliged 
" to erect a circular entrenchment of earth or stone, 
et or partly of both, in token of his holding under 
Ci the chief j this entrenchment was called rath, 
" that is, security. The law allows the rath to be 
" used as a sheep-fold, and for the better security 
" of the sheep stakes were driven into the top of 
" the entrenchment, and interwoven with bushes, 
il brambles, &c* When a maladair died, he was 
%i sometimes interred in the middle of the rath, and 
iC a moat was dug around (the outside commonly) to 
" furnish earth for the feart or tumulus, and then 
*' it had the appearance of a moat. Some of these 
" in the counties of Meath and Westmeath are 

" planted 

* It should be recollected that, as Ireland was almost all wood, it 
abounded with woltts and foxes ; the former of which have been 
aot very long extirpated, and the latter very much thinned. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 315 

"planted with trees, and make a beautiful ap- 
*' pi-arance. These raths remain at this day, and 
" are most injudiciously called IJanes forts. The 
■". Danes probably made a post of some, when si- 
" tuated on a rising ground, as we did in the last 
" rebellion; but when these injudicious antiquaries, 
" that name them forts, find three or four together 
(( with the peripheries of their circles not half a 
" stone's throw from each other, as in Salisbury plain, 
" and in many parts of Ireland, or when they find 
'* a rath situated at the foot of a hill, which com- 
" mands the rath, can these antiquaries say they 
Si were erected for offence or defence ? These puny 
" antiquaries may rest assured that, until they study 
il the oriental languages, and can translate the old 
"laws of Ireland, they can know little or nothing 
" of the antiquities of this country." 

Many of these raths have been formerly planted 
entirely with firs, which-are now, from want of thin- 
ning, grown naked at the bottom, and are become 
very disagreeable objects. One of these formal 
looking groupes occupies the place, that formerly 
contained the palace or castle of Brian Boroimdhe, 
called Ceanchora.* In this castle, after he became 
sole monarch of Ireland in 1022, he received an- 
nually, as a tribute from the princes dependant 
on him, for maintaining his state, 2670 beeves, 
2 s 2 1370 

* fceanckora signifies the head of the weirs, and the first weir uear 
Killaloe is nearly opposite to this place. 



315 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

1370 bogs, 420 loads or tons of iron, 500 mantles, 
365 tons of claret from the Danes of Limerick, 
and from those of Dublin 150 pipes or butts of 
other wine : this tax was called Boroimdhe, and was 
received at the time of All Saints and sent to 
Ceanchora; to this place was also brought the fine 
of 1000 of each kind of cattle, which he exacted 
from the Leganians, as a punishment for having 
joined the Danes. . This place was destroyed by 
Domnhall Mac Ardgail prince of Tyrconnel, during 
the absence of IVIurtogh the grandson of Brien*. 
The king of Cashel received annually from Gor- 
cabhaiscin 200 beeves and 200 cows ; from Cor- 
comruadh 200 beeves and 200 cows, 200 mantles, 
with a fleet always ready ; and when the king had 
occasion for the forces of his tributaries, or to wait 
on him at any of his general assemblies, he sent, 
amongst others, to the prince of Corcomruadh ten 
untamed horses, and a silk garment. Domnhall 
prince of Corcabhaiscin was killed at the battle of 
Clontarf on Good Friday 22d of April 1034. 

When Sitricus the Danish tyrant demanded tri- 
bute from one of the Irish kings, he applied for 
assistance to the other chiefs, and was furnished 

by 

* All traces of this palace are almost obliterated, by planting, 
levelling, and other improvements-; thus one cf the most interesting 
antiquities in Ireland has been spoiled by modern iaste, that taste, 
which could permit hedges to be cut into different whimsical shapes, 
]*e those in the days of London and Wise. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 317 

by Corcabhaiscin with ten ships, and by Corcom- 
ruadh and Burrin with twenty, with which they 
sailed to Dundalk to the relief of their prince 
taken prisoner there ; in the battle, which ensued, 
two princes of Burrin and Corcumruadh, Connor 
and Loughlin,* killed the two brothers of the tyrant, 
Tor and Magnus, but soon after died of their 
wounds. 

CROjMLECHS 

Are to be seen chiefly in. the barony of Burrin, 
though there are a few in the other baronies. There 
is one at Bally gannor about forty feet long and ten 
feet broad, of one stone; the side stones or flags 
are upwards of six feet deep, besides what is sunk in 
the ground. There is also one in the deer-park of 
Lemenagh, another on the commons of Kilnaboy, 
one at Tullynaglashin, one at Mount Callan called 
Altoir na Greine, (altar of the sun,) and one at 
Ballykisshen ; this is a very remarkable one, and 
very capacious ; it was covered formerly with two 
large flags twelve or fourteen feet long each ; they 
were nearly shaped like the lid of a coffin, ajid 
were placed head to head ; one of them remains, 

but 

* One of the family of O'Loughlin now resides in Burrin, and is 
lineally descended from the ancient princes of that barony, and is 
stiled prince of Burrin j but he has too much sense to assume any airs 
i& consequence of his high birth. 



313 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

but the other has been thrown down by a Pro- 
testant clergyman, who dreamed there was money 
buried under it* 

The celebrated tomb of Conaan, on "Mount Callan, 
still remains perfect; it was erected A. D. 259. 
Many laughable anecdotes are told of the efficacy 
of Darby and Crane's bed, as they are called by 
the country people. If a woman proves barren, 
a visit with her husband to Darby and Grane's 
bed certainly cures her. On enquiring, from some 
country girls near Ballygannor, where this cele- 
brated cromlech was, I was heartily laughed at 
for asking one of them, about sixteen years of age, 
to shew me the way to it ; after a long consul- 
tation with one somewhat older than herself, some- 
times with very serious countenances and often with 
smiling ones, and the elder one using a good deal 
of persuasion, she agreed to go with me if she 
Was certain I was a stranger, and she knew my 
name : as the conversation between themselves was 
in Irish, which I did not understand, and the even- 
ing was growing late, I became impatient, and 
very ungallantly rode away.f 

When I had rode a mile farther, I made the 

same 

* It argues a most deplorable want of taste in the proprietors of 
land, where these antiquities are erected, to suffer them to be destroyed 
or mutilated. 

. -f For a curious coincidence of custom see General Vallancey's 
Prospectus, page 24.; and for which purpose only it is worth re- 
pr-atinjc 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 319 

same enquiry from a herd's wife, and at the same 
time told her how I had been laughed at by the 
girls; she said no wonder for them, for it was the 
custom that, if she went with a stranger to Darby 
and Crane's bed, she was certainly to grant him 
every thing he asked. 

Near this last mentioned cromlech, and to the 
N. E., are two smaller ones, and the remains of a 
stone rath, in which part of a covered passage is 
still visible. 

These monuments of high antiquity are very 
erroneously called in Irish Leabha Diarmuid is 
Grane, or Darby and Grane's bed or burial place ; 
for, that they were used for the performance of 
some religious ceremony is evident from their having 
an inclination to the east or south-east ; they were 
called altars from the Chaldee word lebah a flame. 
Certainly many were used as a place of sepulture, 
because bones have been frequently dug up from 
under them, but those, which have been used for 
this purpose, are entirely different in their con- 
struction, and betray, by their superior work~ 
[ manship, their erection at a period long after 
those, which, by their simplicity of stile and ma« 
terials, claim a title to a very high antiquity.* I 

have 

* As it would have been very difficult to have found a sufficient 
quantity of earth in rocky ground to have formed a tumulus, per- 
haps this method of burying a makdair might have been substituted. 



320 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



have seen one, that had the sides and covering 
stone elegantly cut, and neatly joined, in which, 
I was informed, bones had been formerly found. 

Sect. 24. List of Parishes, 



Barony of Burrin. 



Abbey, 

Drumkreehy, 

Oughtmoma, 

Kilkorney, 

Kathborney, 

Killoneghan, 

Glenvaan, 



Glunning, 

Kilmouny, 

Killaney, 

NohavaU, 

Karne, 

Crunane, 

Glancolumkille. 



Barony of Corcomroe. 

Killelugh, Kilshanny, 

Tomalin, Kilfenora, — cathedrals 

Kilmacreeby, Cloony, 

Killaspuglonane, Kilmanaheen. 

Barony of Inchiquin. 

Killinamonagh, Kilwedane, 



Raghe, 


Kilmacduagh,' — there is 


Dysart, 


another of this name in' 


Kiltuitogh, 


the county of Galway. 


Kilnaboy, 


Kilkeedy, 


Corrofin, 


Kiltacka, 


Cood, 


Moone, 




Baron v 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 



321 



Ennis, 

Cloundegad, 

Killone, 



Barony of Islands. 

Clare Abbey, 
t)rumkleeve.* 



Barony of 

Inchicronan, 

Kilraftis, 

Cloney, 

Quin, 

Doroney, 

Templemaley, — J acre 

glebe — no glebe-house. 
Tominlagh, 
Killenasulogh,— -1 5 acres 

of glebe. 
Kilmallery, 
Kilconry, 



Bunratty. 

Clonlaghen, 
Drumline, 
Fynagh, 
Bunratty, 
Kilfintinan, 
Coonock, 

Killeby, — in the liberties 
of the city of Limerick. 
Meelick, 
Saint Muntions, 
Kilquaine. 



Barony of Tullagh. 
Feacle, Clonley, 

Frenagheragb, Cruigh, 

Tullagh, Kilmurry, 

2 T 



Kilfenaghta, 



* The rector does duty in Ennis ; three acres of glebe. In this 
church, though it has every appearance of antiquity, well cut stones, 
that evidently belonged to some former and better kind of building, 
are worked up with the other rough stones. 



322 



STATISTICAL SURVEY 



Kilfenaghta, Killikenneda, 

Ballyshine, Killuran, 

Moinoe, Killeely, 

Tomgrany, Donass, 

Killud, Kiltanlea, 

Toogonela, Inniskalto — has been long in 

Aglish, controversy with county 

Killaloe, Galway. 



Killard, 

Kilmurry, 

Kilfarboy, 



Barony of Ibrickan, 
Innisclea, 
Miltown. 



ivilballyhone, 

Ross, 

Moyferta, 

Killenedane, 

Kilfieragh, 



Barony of Moyferta. 

Kilrush, 

Kilmacduane,< 

Killeroney, 

Kilnagleagh, 

Mollough. 



Four acres of glebe 
and house, which has 
jbeen lately built with 
* every attention to 
i stability and conve- 
nience under the in- 
spection of the Rev. 
,Mr. Whitty. 



Barony of Clounderalaw. 
Killimer, Kilfadin, 

Kilmurry M'Mahon, Kildysert, 
ICihnighill, Kilchrist. 



SECT, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 323 

Sect. 25. Abbeys, 

Beagh, 

In the barony of Burrin ; there was a monastery 
of the third order of Franciscan friars. The abbey 
of Beagh and the town-land of Abbeybeaghan are 
mentioned in the records. 

N. B. There are no traces of this abbey at pre- 
sent ; probably it may have been mistaken for one 
of that name in the barony of Clare, county of 
Galway, 

Ceanindis or Keannindse, \ 

Is the name of a hill in Dalcassia, now the 
county of Clare ; St. Comgall, who was abbot of 
Gleanussen in the King's County, founded a church 
here ; he died before the year 569. 

Clare or Kilmony, or abbey of St. Peter and St. Paul, 

On the river Fergus, anciently called also Forgy, 
in the barony of Islands, about a mile from Ennis, 
and not, as mentioned in the Monasticon Hibernicum, 
where the Fergus falls into the Shannon, for it k 
above seven miles from the junction of the two 
2 t 2 > rivers 



324 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

rivers. This abbey was founded under the invoca- 
tion of St. Peter and St. Paul for canons regular, 
following the rule of St. Augustine, by Donald 
O'Brien, the great king of Limerick ; he appointed 
Donatus abbot, and richly endowed the abbey. 

The charter was dated at Limerick in 1195, and 
witnessed by M. archbishop of Cashel, D. bishop 
of Killaloe, A. bishop of Fenabore, (Kilfenora,) and 
B. bishop of Limerick. Thady, bishop of Killaloe, 
exemplified king Donald's ancient charter in this 
monastery on the 18th of July 1461. 

In 1543 King Henry VIII. granted the abbey to 
the Baron of Ibrachan, together with a moiety of 
the rectories of Kilchrist, Kilmoyle, Kilmacduan, 
Killurocragb, Ballinregdan, Ballylogheran, and Bal- 
lylegford. 

This abbey was granted in fee to Donough Earl 
of Thomond, January 19, 1620, and a new grant 
was afterwards made in September the 2st, 1661, to 
Henry Earl of Thornond. 

Corcornroe, or abbey of St. Maty, 

Anciently called Corcamruadh, a small village in 
the barony of Burrin. It was thrice plundered by 
Roderic O'Connor and Dermot O'Brien in the }*ear 
1088. 

A. D. 1194. Donald king of Limerick founded 

a sumptuous 



of The county of glare. 325 

a sumptuous monastery here for Cistertian monks, 
and dedicated it to the Virgin Mary -, others say, 
that Donagh Carbrac his son was the founder, in 
the year 1200. 

This abbey was also called the abbey of the 
fruitful rock, and was a daughter of that of Suire; 
- it was afterwards made subject to the celebrated 
abbey of Furnes in Lancashire. The cell of Kil- 
sonna, alias Kilshanny or Kilsane,* was some time 
afterwards annexed to this house; the founder died 
the same year. 

1267. Donogh O'Brien, king of Thomond, was 
killed in the battle, that was fought at Siudaine 
in the barony of Burrin ; he was solemnly interred 
in this abbey, where a grand monument was erected 
to his memory, the remains of which are to be seen 
to this day.f 

1317. A dreadful battle was fought near this town, 

in which many of the principal of the O'Briens 

fell ; amongst the slain were Teige, and Murtogh 

Garbh, sons of Brien Ruadh, king of Thomond. 

1418. The abbot John was made bishop of Kil- 



macduagh. 



This 



* In the barony of Corcomroe, and now a parish wholly impropriate. 

•f- A few years ago some giddy young gentlemen took it into their 
heads to amuse .themselves with mutilating some part of this ancient 
monument ; they were pursued by the country people, and, if over- 
taken, in all probability would have been served as they richly deserved. 



326 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

.This abbey, with eleven quarters of land, in 
Corcomroe and Glanemanagh, was granted to 
Richard Harding. 

Ennis, 

On the river Fergus, in the barony of Islands, 
is a market and borough town ; it was anciently 
called Inniscluanruadha, and one of the suburbs, 
where a fair is held, is now called Clonroad.* 

1240. About this time Donogh Carbrac O'Brien 
built a very noble and beautiful monastery here 
for conventual Franciscan friars. 

1305. The annals of Innisfallen inform us, that 
this monastery was built or repaired this year by 
Terlagh the son of Teige Caoluiske O'Brien, who 
presented the friars with holy crosses, embroidered 
vestments, and other needle-work, cowls, and every 
necessary furniture, beautiful book-cases, and blue 
painted windows. 

1306. Died Cumheadha Mor Macnamara; he was 
interred with his king in this monastery. This 
year Dermot the son of Doncha, son of Brien-roe, 
at the head of a powerful army of Irish and Eng- 
lish, entered the, town, and burned and destroyed 

every house in it. 

1311. 

* Mac Curtln, in his Antiquities of Ireland, mentions, that at one 
time there were at Clonroad upwards of 600 scholars, together with 
350 monks, maintained by O'Brien, prince of this county, after the 
coming of the English, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 327 

1311. About this time Donogh, king of Tho- 
mond, bestowed the entire revenue of his princi- 
pality towards the support of the poor friars of this 
monastery, and for enlarging and beautifying their 
house. 

1313. Dermot O'Brien, prince of Thomond, was 
buried in this monastery, in the habit of a Fran- 
ciscan friar. 

1343. Moriertach O'Brien, the son of Theodoric 
prince of Thomond, died on June the 5tb, and was 
buried here ; and the same year Mathew Mac Co- 
mara, called the blind, who built the refectory and 
sacristy of the monastery, was buried here in the 
habit of the order. 

1350. Pope Clement VI. granted several indul- 
gences to this monastery, and Theodoric the son. 
of Donogh O'Brien was interred therein. 

1364. Dermot O'Brien, late prince of Thomond, 
died on the vigil or the conversion of St. Paul at 
Ardrahan in the county of Gal way, but he had his 
sepulture in this monastery. 

1370. Mathew O'Brien, prince of Thomond, dying 
on the feast of St. Philip and St. James, was also 
interred here. 

1375. This year king Edward III. moved with 
compassion for the poverty of this house, and the 
scarcity of provisions in this part of the country, 
granted a licence., dated at Limerick, August the 

22dj 



3fc* STATISTICAL SURVEY 

22d, to the guardian and friars to enter into the 
English pale and purchase provisions of every kind ; 
and he also granted a licence to Marian Currydany, 
a brother of the house, to go to the city of Ar- 
gentine in Almania (or Germany) to study in the 
schools. This friary was reformed by the Fran- 
ciscans of the strict observance. In a rental of 
the crown, in the year 1577, in the office of the 
Auditor general, the crown was then in possession 
of the site of this monastery, a mill on the river 
Fergus, and an eel and salmon-weir, with some 
houses and gardens in the village. On the 1st of 
June, 1621, it was granted to William Dongan, Esq. 
Many of the ancient ornaments of this building, 
particularly a very fine window, uncommonly light 
and of exquisite workmanship, still remain ; this, 
with other similar instances, must argue the refined 
taste of our ancestors. It is now the parish church, 
which occupies only a part of the ancient build- 
ing ; what a pity the end next this beautiful win- 
dow had not been chosen for this purpose ?• but 
perhaps modern taste would have altered the window, 
as it has removed many of the old monuments. 
In a few years there will not be a vestige of the 
building; every person, that chooses, may pull down 
any part of it, and, instead of pointing the joints 
of the beautiful window, it will probably share the 
fate of the other parts. 

Enniskerry 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 329 



Enniskerry or Inniscaorach. 

There are two islands of this name about three 
miles from the main land of the 'barony of Ibrickan. 
St. Senan of Iniscattery built an abbey on Innis- 
caorach in the territory of Hybreccain (Ibrickan) 
in Thomond.* 

Finish, 

An island in the river Shannon, where it receives 
the river Fergus. St. Bridget, the daughter of 
Conchraid of the family of Mactalius, presided over 
an abbey of nuns in the island of Inisfidhe or 
Cluanefidhe in the 5th century, in the time of St. 
Senan. It is an island in the Fergus, in the ba- 
rony of Bunratty, and parish of Kilconry. 

Gleanchaoin. < 

This valley is in Hy Luigdheach, in Munster, 
at the bounds of the see of Killaloe. St. Patrick 
built an abbey here ; this place is now unknown. 

2 u Glanchohdmchilk. 

* It is now called Mutton island, is the property of Mr. Bolton, 
and contains about 120 acres of good land; it feeds oxen, sheep,, 
and rabbits, and sets for 1001. per annum. A large quantity of kelp 
ts made here. 



330 STATISTICAL SURVEY 



Glanchohdmch Me. 

St. Columb founded this abbey ; it is now a 
parish church (in ruins) in the diocese of Kilfenora, 
barony of Burrin, and parish of Karne. 

Inchycronane ', 

Is an island in the river Shannon;* Donald O'Brien, 
king of Limerick, founded an abbey in the island 
of Irichycionane for Regular canons about the year 
1190. This- abbey and a moiety of the tithes 
of the parish of Inchycronane were granted to 
Donogh, earl of Thompnd, January 19, 1620, and 
again in fee to Henry, earl of Thomond, Sept 
f, 1661. 

Inchmore or Inismore, (the great island.} 

An island in Loughree in the river Shannon. j 
St. Senan, the great saint of Iniscattery, built an 

abbey 

* So say* Archdall m the Monastieon Hibernicum ; but there is 
no such island as Inchycronaae in the Shannon \ the abbey of Inchycro- 
nane is about six miles north of Ennis, in the barony of Sunrattr, 
and is in a small island Surrounded by a little rivulet. 

•f- Innismore is in the river Fergus, and is called Deer-island ; it 
is in the barony of Clounderalaw and parish of Kilchrist, and u >i 
in Loughree, as stated above from the Monasticon. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 331 

abbey at Inismore, and placed St. Liberius one of 
his disciples over it ; his memory is still celebrated 
in this island. 



Inisanlaoi. 

Turlogb, son of Teige Caoluisge, son of Connor 
na Suidaine O'Brien kins: of Thomond. built a mas- 
nificent abbey here, in which he was buried in the 
year 1305. The site is not known at present. 

Iniscunla 9 

In Hy Ledna, an ancient territory in this county ; 
St. Senan built a church here, and placed over it 
the saints Finan and Finnen. This church is now 
unknown. 

i 

Iniskeltair, 

An island in Lough Derg in the river Shannon, 
and on the borders of the counties of Clare and 
Galway. St. Camin founded an abbey here, which 
was afterwards a church, and still retains his name ; 
he died in the year 653, and was buried in his 
own church ; his feast is observed on the 25th of 
March. St. Stellan the abbot died May the 24th, 
about three years before St. Camin. 

2 u 2 St. 



332 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

St. Coelan, a monk of this abbey, flourished about 
the end of the 7th or beginning of the 8th cen- 
tury. He wrote a life of St. Brigid in latin verse, 
in which he expressly tells us, that this abbey was 
a convent of Benedictines : 



Keltra est com-entus rite vi rorum 



Prudentum, sacro Eenedicti dogmate florens. 

834. This island was ravaged by the Danes, and 
the same year it was destroyed with fire by Tomar 
a Danish commander from Limerick. 

1027. The great Brien Boroimhe, monarch of 
Ireland, erected the church of Iniskeltair about this 
time. 

1040. Corcran was abbot of Iniskeltair; he was 
the most celebrated ecclesiastic of the west of 
Europe, both for religion and learning, and died 
this year at Lismore. 

1043. Died St. Amnichad ; he was a disciple of 
the abbot Corcran ; his feast is held on the 30th of 
January. 

1315. Brien O'Brien, brother to Donogh king of 
Thomond, was constrained to take shelter in this 
island. 

There yet remains here a fine round tower, 
with seven small churches, which bespeak in mi- 
niature an elegance of taste. This island is re- 
markable for the great resort of pilgrims on cer- 
tain festivals. 

Jnnislm* 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 333 



Inislua, 

Was anciently called Inisluaidhe,* an island in 
the river Shannon, between Limerick and the island 
of Iniscattery. St. Senan of Corcabaiscin founded 
a monastery here before the coming of St. Patrick 
into Munster, and St. Moronoc, called the peniten- 
tiary of Inisluaidhe, had a cell here at the time 
of St. Senan's death. 



Inisnegananagh, 

Or the island of Canons, now called Elanagra- 
nocb, in the river Shannon, and barony of Cloun- 
deralaw, near the principality of Thomond. Donald 
O'Brien king of Limerick in the twelfth century 
founded or rebuilt a priory here for Canons regular, 
following the rule of St. Augustin. In a rental of 
the crown estate, in the year 1577, the crown was 
then seized, in right of this abbey, of the farm 
of the island, viz. four acres of arable, fourteen of 
mountain and pasture, and the site of the said 
abbey containing half an acre, a church, &c, three 
other islands called Inishorlth, (now Horse-island,) 
Iniskeirke, (now InissarkJ and Inistubred, (now 

Inistubber,) 

£ Probably Low- island, near the junction of the Shannon and 
Fergus. 



334 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Inistubber,) near the said island of Canons ; the land 
called Iniskedragh not far from the river of Gal way, 
containing thirteen acres of mountain ; also two 
parts of the tithes of the rectory of Kildysert 
Murhull, and the vicarage of Kilchrist in Thomond. 
The moiety of the said abbey of canons, and that 
of Clare, and the moiety of the churches of Kil- 
christ, Killonyle, alias Killenoyle, Kilmadovane, 
alias Killuichdowen, Killoveragh, Ballymacegan, 
alias Ballymacregan, Ballyloughbran, and Bally- 
loughfadela, and the chapel of Killowe, with all their 
tithes and profits, and the tithes of the demesne 
and lands of the same abbey, were granted in fee 
to Donogh, Earl of Thomond, June 20, 1 605, x and 
confirmed to him on March 8, 1609; they were 
again granted in fee to Henry Earl of Thomond, 
on September 1, 1661. 

Inis-Scaiteiy. 

I; was anciently called Inisscathy, Iniscathuigh 3 
«nd Cathiana, a rich and beautiful island in the 
mouth of the river Shannon. St. Senan of Cor- 
cabaiscin founded an abbey here before the arrival 
of St. Patrick in Munster, as some report, but others 
«ay, that St. Patrick himself was the founder, and 
that he placed St. Senan here. He had eleven 
churches for his monks, and no women were per- 
mitted 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 335 

mitted to land on the island before the coming 
of the Danes into this country. The prelates of 
this noble and ancient church are sometimes called 
by ecclesiastical historians bishops, . and at other 
times abbots. In process of time it became a priory 
of regular canons. 

A. D. 538. St. Kieran, who was called the son 
of the carpenter, having left the island of Arran, 
came hither, and was made providore for the stran- 
gers by St. Senan. , 

544. St. Senan died on the first of March, and 
was buried in the abbey. His festival is observed 
on the 8th day of that month, and a superb mo- 
nument was erected to his memory. This saint's 
bell is still religiously preserved in the west part 
of the county, and is called the golden bell, and 
many of the common people believe at this day, 
that to swear by it falsely would be immediately 
followed by convulsions and death. This custom 
is not confined to this place or time, for we find 
in the Survey of Kildare, that the bell of St. Evan 
in the 7th century had the same veneration at- 
tached to it. St. Odian was the immediate suc- 
cessor to St. Senan. 

192. Died Olcbobhar the son of Flann ; he was 
"airchennach or ethnarch (archdeacon) of this abbey ; 
his feast is held on the 27th of October. 

816. The 



336 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

816. The Danes plundered the island this year, 
put the monks to the sword, and defaded the 
monument of the saint. 

835. About this time the same barbarians again 
sailed up the Shannon, and destroyed the mo- 
nastery. 

861. Died the abbot Aidan. 

908. Cormac Mac Cuillenan, the learned and 
pious archbishop of Cashel, and king of Munster, 
was slain in the battle of Moyalbe, not far from 
Leighlin. Flaithbeartach the son of Ionmuinein, was 
then abbot of this monastery, and was the great 
fomenter of this war, in which the good bishop 
lost his life. In his will Cormac bequeathed to this 
abbey three ounces of gold, and to the abbot his 
choicest sacred vestments. The abbot for his con- 
cern in Cormac' s melancholy fate was closely im- 
prisoned for two years, and then ordered to a 
severe penance in this monastery ; afterwards he 
so far recovered his power and influence, that on 
the death of Dubhlachtna, who had succeeded king 
Cormac, he was elected to fill the throne of Munster. 

914. Some Danes landed at Water ford, but they 
were defeated by Flaithbeartach, who in the annals 
is called prince of Idrona. 

944. Flaithbeartach died this year. 

950. The Danes were become so powerful about 

this 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 337 

this time, that they made this island a place of 
arms. * 

958. Died Noyman of Inisscatthy. 

972. A Danish chieftain, Mark, the son of Harold, 
sailed round Ireland, and committed great devas- 
tations on this island, taking much treasure and 
many captives. 

975. Brien king of Munster and Domnhall king 
of Ionmhuinein recovered this island from the Danes 
by defeating Iomhar the Norman and his two sons, 
Amhlaibh and Duibheheann ; 500 of the Danes, with 
MBMfc and his two sons, who fled thither for safety 
some time before, were slain in this battle. 

994. Died Colla the abbot and doctor of Iniss- 
cathy. 

1050. Died Hua-schula the ethnarch of this abbey. 

1057. Diarmuid Mac Maoilnambo, with the Danes 
of Dublin, plundered this island, but they were 
overtaken and defeated by Donogh the son of 
Brien. 

1801. Died the abbot O'Burgus. 

1176. This abbey was again plundered by the 
Danes of Limerick. 

1179. William Hoel, an English knight, wasted 
the whole island, not even sparing the churches. 

1188. Died Aid O'Beachain, bishop of Inisscathy. 

1195. Inisscathy was at this time a bishop's see, 

afterwards united to Limerick, and sooo after to 

2 X that 



338 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

that of Killaloe, when Charles O'Heney was bishop 
in 1195. 

Richard de London was guardian of this abbey, 
but the date is not recorded. 

1290. Thomas le Chapelin was guardian after 
Richard; he was guardian also in the vear 1295. 

April 24th, and 20th of Queen Elizabeth, this 
abbey with the church-yard, twenty-four acres of 
land, a house, a castle built of stone and three 
cottages in the island, and the several customs 
following ; from every boat of oysters, coming to 
the city of Limerick, once a year, 1000 oysters; 
and from every herring-boat 500 herrings once a 
year ; also ten cottages, one church in ruins, twenty 
acres of wood and stony ground in the said island 
called Beachwood, with all the tithes, &c were 
granted to the mayor and citizens of Limerick, 
and their successors for ever in free soccage, not 
in capite, at the annual rent of Si. I2s> 8d. 

The monument of St. Senan is still to be seen 
here, with the remains of eleven small churches 
and several cells ; in the stone, that closes the top 
of the altar window of the great church, is the 
head of the saint, with his mitre boldly executed, 
and but little defaced ; an ancient round tower, 
120 feet in height and in good repair, graces the 
scene. This island is remarkable for the resort of 
pilgrims on certain festivals. 

Jnistymon, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 339 



Imstymon, 

In the barony of Corcomroe ; St. Luchtigbern 
was abbot of Inistymensis or Inistomcnsis. 

Jvilcarragh.* 

There was an hospital or monastery here, of 
which we have no further account, than that it was 
endowed with a quarter of land adjoining thereto, 
which at the dissolution was granted to John King. 

Kilfarboy, 

In the barony of Ibrickan, is now a parish church 
(in ruins). The monastery of Kilfobrick was founded 
A. D. 741. We find that Cormac, bishop and scribe 
of Kilfobrick, died A. D. 837. 

Kilfenora, 

Anciently called Fenabore and Celumabrach, in 

the barony of Corcomroe. The Annals of Munster 

tell us, that Murrough O'Brien burned the abbey 

of Kilfenora, and slew many people therein A. D, 

2x2 1055, 

* It is very near Kilfenora, on the estate of George Lysaght, £scj. 



340 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

1055. It was in the year 1660 given in commendam 
to Samuel Pullen then archbishop of Tuam. 



Kiilaloe. 

Was anciently called Kildalua, Ceandaluan, the 
church of St. Fachnan, and Loania, or the habitation 
on the wave ; the scat of a bishop, and situated 
on the western banks of the Shannon, near the noted 
cataract. St. Molualobhair, the grandson of Eocha 
Baildearg king of north Munster, founded an abbey 
iiere about the beginning of the 6th century.* He 
was succeeded by his disciple St. Flannan, who about 
the year 639 was consecrated bishop of the place ; 
from this time we hear no more of it as an ab- 
hey. Kiilaloe was anciently the resort of many 
pilgrims. 



Ecclesiastical divisions of the diocese of Kiilaloe. 
according to the Rev. Dr. Beaufort. 

The diocese of Kiilaloe was founded early in 
the 5th century; in the 12th it was incorporated 
with the ancient bishopric of Roscrea founded in 

620; 

* Mc. Cunin's Vindication of the History of Ireland states, that 
Brien Boromhe built the churches of Kiilaloe and Iuiscathra, and 
leedified *he 6teeple of Tomgraney. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 341 

620 ; in the year 1752 the see of Kilfenora, which 
had been established about the 12th century, was 
united to it, and, though very small in extent and 
value, had continued separate until after the res- 
toration, when it was first annexed to the arch- 
bishopric of Tuam; that union continued eighty-one 
years until 1741, when, Ardagh being annexed to 
Tuam, this bishopric was given in commendam to 
the bishop of Clonfert. 

The diocese of Killaloe stretches eighty miles 
in length, through the counties of Clare and Tip- 
perary, into the King's county, and includes also 
a small part of the Queen's county, Galway and 
Limerick ; it varies in breadth from seven to twenty- 
five miles. 

Kilfenora is confined to the baronies of Burrin 
and Corcomroe, and extends only eighteen miles 
by nine. In the Chapter of each diocese there are 
stalls for a dean, precentor, chancellor, treasurer 
and archdeacon, and in that of Killaloe for five 
prebendaries. 

Of the patronage of these dioceses it is difficult 
to form an abstract, the rectories being mostly 
separate from the vicarages, and many of them in 
lay patronage ; thus multiplied in number, ten of 
them are in the gift of the crown, 131 in the 
bishop, and 36 in lay patrons j those 177 rectories 

and 



342 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

and vicarages are united and condensed, if the ex- 
pression may be allowed, into fifty benefices. 

The church of Killaloe is not large for a ca- 
thedral, but venerable for its antiquity, and in good 
preservation, though built above 660 years ; it serves 
like many others for the parish church. Very near 
the little town of Killaloe, in the midst of a fine 
demesne, beautifully situated on the western bank 
of the Shannon, stands the episcopal residence, a 
handsome new house, erected by the late arch- 
bishop of Dublin (Fowler) when bishop of Killaloe. 
This see is fifty miles from the S. W. extremity 
of the diocese. 

In the diocese of Killaloe are contained, (in 
Clare only,) 

426700 acres, 

57 parishes, 

20 benefices, 

15 churches, 

1 glebe- house, 

15 glebes only, 

6 benefices without glebes, 

16 rectories impropriate. 
5 wholly impropriate. 



Kilfenora 



OF THE COUNTY OF CtARE. 343 



JCilfenora contain* 

37000 acres, 
19 parishes, 
8 benefices, 
3 churches, 

1 glebe-house, 
5 glebes only, 

2 benefices without glebes, 
rectory impropriate, 

2 wholly impropriate; 
&i)d to each church on an average 17513 acres!! 
Near the church of Killaloe is the building called 
the oratory of St. Moluah, reckoned one of the 
oldest buildings in Ireland ; it was built in the 7th 
century; it is arched with stone, and at present 
serves Dr. Martin for a cart-house, and a pen for 
sheep, that graze in the church-yard. 

KilnagaUagh, 

On the shore of the river Shannon, and two 
miles and a half N. W. of Inisscattery, in the 
Ibarony of Moyferta, and parish of Kilfieragh. St. 
Senan gave the veil to the daughters of Nateus in 
Kilcochaille, now called Kilnacaillech or the church 
pf the nuns, not far from Injsscattery. 

Killoen 9 



344 STATISTICAL SURVEY 



Killoen, oxKittone, or Nunnery of St. John the Baptist, 

In the barony of Islands. About the year 1190 
Donald O'Brien, king of Limerick, founded an abbey 
here for nuns, following the rules of St. Augustin, 
and dedicated it to St. John the Baptist. Slaney, 
the daughter of Donogh Carbrach, king of Thomond, 
was abbess of this nunnery, and died A. D. 1260; 
she was pre-eminent in devotion, alms-deeds, and 
hospitality to all the women then in Minister. 

J£ilshanny> 

In the barony of Corcomroe^, the cell of Kil- 
shann} r , alias Kilsonna or Kilsane, was annexed to 
the abbey of Corcomroe. This monastery, with all 
its appurtenances, mills, and fisheries, was granted 
to Robert Hickman. 

$>mn, 

Called also Quint or Quinchy, is in the barony 
of Bunratty, about five miles east of Ennis. An 
abbey was founded here early, which was con- 
sumed by fire, A. D. 1278. 

The monastery of Quin for Franciscan friars was 
founded in 1402 by Sioda-Cam Macnamara, but 

father 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 345 

father Wadding places it in the year 1350, yet 
at the same time he declares, that he thinks it 
more ancient. 

Pope Eugenius the fourth granted a licence to 
Macnamara to place the friars of the strict ob- 
servance in the monastery, which, as Wadding 
observes, was the first house of the Franciscan order 
in Ireland, that admitted of that reformation. 

The same year Mac Cam Dall Macnamara, lord of 
Glancoilean, erected this monastery, being a beau- 
tiful strong building of black marble ; his tomb is 
still remaining. This monastery, with all the manors, 
advowsons, &c. of Daveunwall, Ichanee, Downagour, 
and divers others, with the site of all the heredi- 
taments thereof, was granted to Sir Turlogh O'Brien 
of Innishdyman (Innistymon) in fee, December 14, 
1583. 

The Roman Catholics repaired this monastery 
in 1604. Bishop Pococke thus describes its pre- 
sent state: " Quin is one of the finest and most 
" entire monasteries, that I have seen in Ireland ; 
** it is situated on a fine stream with an ascent 
" of several steps to the church ; at the entrance 
" one is surprized with the view of the high altar 
" entire, and of an altar on each side of the arch 
"of "the chancel. To the south is a chapel with 
" three or four -altar's in it, and a very gothic 
2 y " figure 



346 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

" figure in relief of some saint ; on the north side 

u of the chancel is a fine monument of the family 

ci of the Macnamaras of Ranee, erected by the 

" founder ; on a stone by the high altar the name 

" of Kennedye appears in large letters; in the middle, 

ei between the body and the chancel, is a fine tower 

" built on the gable ends. The cloister is in the 

" usual form with couplets of pillars, but is par- 

'" ticular in having buttresses round it by way of 

" ornament ; there are apartments on three sides 

" of it,, the refectory, the dormitory, and another 

" grand room to the north of the chancel, with a 

" vaulted room under them all; to the north of the 

" large room is a closet, which leads through a pri- 

" vate way to a very strong round tower, the walls 

" of which are near ten feet thick. In the front of 

" the monastery is a building, which seems to have 

" been an apartment for strangers, and to the 

" south-west are two other buildings." It remains 

nearly in the same state as when the bishop wrote, 

but greatly disfigured by the superstitious custom 

of burying within the walls of churches. The south 

end, built by one of the family of Macnamara, is 

much superior in neatness of workmanship to the 

adjoining parts. There are the remains of a curious 

representation of a crucifixion in stucco on the 

wall near the high altar, that has escaped, I believe, 

the 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLAR] 

the observation of all travellers. A pigeon-house, 
eel-weir, and good water, were amongst the com- 
forts the good friars enjoyed at Quin. 

Rosslesenchoir , 

Near the western ocean. St. Cocca, nurse to St. 
Kieran, was abbess of a nunnery here, which is 
now wholly unknown, 

Shraduffe or Templedisert. 

On the 12th of March, 1611, the site of this 
abbey, and the possessions thereunto belonging 
were granted in fee to Sir Edward Fisher, knight ; 
this is the only information we have, that there 
was a religious house here. 

Six-mile- bridge. 

Called in Irish Abhuinn O'Gearna, from the river 
Gearna or Ougarnee, which runs from thence to 
the Shannon. 

There was a chapel or vicarial house near to 
this town, which did belong to the Dominicans of 
Limerick, but of this there are now no remains. 

2 y 2 Tomgraney, 



345 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

\ . Tomgraney, 

Anciently called Tuaimgraine, about a mile 
west of Lough Derg; an abbey was founded here 
early. 

A. D. 735. Died the abbot St. Manchin. 

747- Died the abbot Connell. 

791. Died the abbot Cathnia O'Guary. 

886. The abbey was plundered. 

949. It received the same treatment. 

964. Cormac O'Killeen, a man famous for his 
learning and good works, died this year; he was 
abbot of Tuaimgraine and of Roscommon ; he was 
also both abbot and bishop of Cionmacnois, and 
built the church and steeple of this abbey. 

1002. Died the abbot Dungal; he was the son 
of Beaon. 

1027. Brien Boroimhe, the famous monarch of 
Ireland, repaired the steeple about this time. 

1078. Died the abbot Cormac Hua Beain. 

1084. O'Ruark of Breffiny reduced this abbey 
to ashes, but the fate he merited soon overtook 
him, for he fell by the troops of Thomond. 

1164. This abbey was put into the same mi- 
serable state this year. 

1170. It was plundered again about this time. 

Tomgraney 




OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 349 

Tomgraney is now a parish church in very bad 
repair, and in the gift of Mr. Brady of Raheens. 
It has been generally remarked, that the land 
around old abbeys is generally very good ; the 
cause is usually mistaken for the effect, for though 
the ground in some instances is naturally good, 
yet it is to a superior and long continued culti- 
vation and manuring it is to be attributed ; at the 
same time we may suppose the monks, like their 
brethren of every persuasion, had no aversion to 
the good things of this world. 



Resident clprgy only. 

Rev. Frederick Blood 9 ) '' i ■ " 

m , „ J- Rath, Kilkeedy, Corrofin. &c. 

Rev. Thomas Lane, $ Ji ' 

(Union of Kilrush, Kil- 
lard,Kilneragh,Moy- 
Rev. J. Graham, curate, £ ferta)and K ilballyhone. 

Rev. Mr. Whitty, Tullagh. 
Rev. Mr. Weldon, Ennis. 

Rev. Mr. Reid, Tomgraney, 

/-» Union of Six-mile bridge, 
Rev. Mr. Miller, rector, VKiIconry,Clonloghan, Bun- 

Kev.Mr. Holland, curate, K ratt y> Feenagb, Kilfenagh- 
thirty years. /tin, containing 12264 acres, 

v-»and three acres of glebe. 
Rev. 



330 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Rev. John Palmer, Kilnasullogh, Kilmurry, Clon- 

logiran, 15 acres of glebe. 

Rev. William Kadlock. 

Rev Mr. Butler. 

Rev. James Martin. 

Rev. Michael Fitzgerald, rector of Quin, Dowry, 

, and Cloney. 

Rev. Michael Davoren, rector, ) 

> Miltown. , 
Rev. Andrew Davoren, curate, ) 

Rev. James Kenny. 

Rev, Oliver Grace, curate, Rathborney, &c. &c. ; 

lives eleven miles from the church. 

I regret the clergy did not furnish me with a 
more correct list. 

Frequently some part of a parish is contained 
in an adjoining one ; for instance, part of Killo- 
nehan in Glanning, of Kilmouny in Killonehan, of 
Rathborney in Kilmouney, of Kilmooney in Kil- 
lelagh, and in another barony, &e. &c. 

Some years since the late Rev. Dr. Columbine 
left by will XOOl. in the hands of Edward Burton, 
Esq. of Clifden, the interest to be applied in mar- 
riage portions to as many young protestant couples 
•as complied with certain religious duties. I fear 
it has been little better than a premium on hy- 
pocrisy. 

A handsome new church has been lately built 
at Six-mile-bridge, another at Miltown, and one 

at 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 35i 

at Quin, a disgrace to the parish ; what an 
architect, to build such a vile imitation of Quin 
abbey, and even where the eye could take in both 
at one time ! 

The churches in general seem greatly neglected ; 
the seats are scarcely ever dusted, except by the 
coats of the congregation ; the windows are seldom 
opened to admit fresh air ; indeed this is the less ne- 
cessary, as there is generally plenty of broken panes, 
broken doors, and broken roofs. If a church has 
been white-washed once in five or six years, the 
spattering remains on the windows, until the rain 
washes it off. The church of Tuliagh (1807) is 
particularly dirty and ruinous, the windows and 
ceiling full of cobwebs, the seats full of dust, and 
three marble monuments (to the disgrace of the fa- 
milies, to whom they belong) completely in mourning. 
Although ornament in churches is unnecessary, 
surely the virtue of cleanliness is particularly so 
in a place of divine worship, and if the church- 
wardens will not do their duty, it would not de- 
grade the clergyman to do it ; I believe in this 
case he has the power to act thus, 

Pillar-stones j #V. 

Pillar-stones occur in but few places; some may 
be seen on the road between Spansel.hill and Tui- 

lasrh • 



352 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

lagh : from the rudeness of the workmanship they 
are probably of very high antiquity. A gentle- 
man informed me they were rubbing-posts for 
cattle! — See General Vallancey's Prospectus. 

At Kilfenora several ancient crosses are to be 
seen ; one in the church-yard seems to be of great 
antiquity, as there is no inscription on it; another 
on the estate of George Lysaght, Esq. is of very 
light and beautiful workmanship, and probably of 
a period long after that in the church-yard. 

Near the church and round tower of Dysert 
O'Dea, a very curious one lies on the ground ; it 
represents (it is said) St. Monalagb, who was bishop 
of this place, and whose figure is represented on 
it, with his crozier, &c. accompanied by several 
other figures ; it is without date ; but on the base, 
that supported it, we are informed, that it was 
repaired by one of that family in the year 1689. 
It is remarkable, that the head of the saint is cut 
on a square piece of flat stone, that can be put 
in and out at pleasure like the stopper of an oven. 
The crozier also of this saint is still preserved with 
great care; it is called the Bougha!, (stick,) and 
is of curious workmanship; it is held in such ve- 
neration, that oaths are taken on it with great so- 
lemnity, and a shilling paid for the use of it to 
a poor woman, who gives it out to any person, 

who 




Cnrio-as ^loiLiixraexit at ISziafoov 




OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 353 

who applies for it, and it travels safely from cabin 
to cabin. 

In a field near the church of Kilnaboy, a re- 
markable cross is fixed in a rock ; tradition says, 
that two men had a violent quarrel of many years 
standing, which, by the interference of mutual friends, 
they agreed to settle here ; they met and "shook 
hands, and in commemoration of the event a cross 
was erected on the spot. The appearance of it 
gives some degree of probability to the story, for 
there are two faces in relief looking towards each 
other on the top of the cross, and two hands in 
the middle like those in the act of shaking hands ; 
my informant said this happened long before the 
building of the round tower or the church. (See 
plate on the opposite side.) It is remarkable how 
little curiosity there is in the county ; not a single 
gentleman, even of those, who passed it by fre- 
quently for forty years, had ever noticed it, though 
not twenty yards from the road. 

Sect. 26. Whether the county has been actually 
surveyed 1 ? 

This county was surveyed in 1639 by order of 
the Earl of Strafford, and the map is esteemed to- 
lerably correct. Some years since an actual sur- 
vey was made by Mr. Pelham, by order of the 
2 z grand 



354 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

grand jury ; from what I have seen, and from the 
report of the inhabitants of the county, I am in- 
duced to think it is generally correct ; some tri- 
fling omissions or inaccuracies may be perceived, 
but in general it is such as to do credit to Mr. 
fVlham, especially if the gentlemen of that day 
•were as little alive to any thing, that would be- 
nefit their county without exclusively serving thenu 
selves, as I found those of the present day. 

The engraver has taken great liberties, and laid 
a very heavy hand on his graver, when deline- 
ating the hills; to a stranger the county must 
appear a dreary mountain, destitute of verdure or 
cultivation, and of inhabitants. The barony of Bun- 
ratty for instance, whose gentle hills are either 
grazed or tilled to the summit, appears almost as 
gloomy as the eastern part of Tullagh, or Moy- 
ferta, or Burrin. Many of the names of places are 
very incorrect, (as I suppose mine are,) not only from 
an ignoranc'e of the Irish language, and the quick 
manner the natives pronounce many words, but from 
the want of correction by the gentlemen of the 
county, few of whom but would rather laugti at 
than set one right. 

Though there is an act of parliament directing, 
that a map and survey shall be kept constantly 
hung up in the grand jury room, this useful re- 
gulation is evaded ', perhaps it would detect jobbing 

too 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 355 

too much, and is therefore suppressed. There is 
also another act for providing barony maps; if 
these were on a scale large enough, they ivould 
be of great use in laying out new roads, but then 
this would take too much money from the road- 
jobbing. 

Sect. 27. Weights and measures, liquid or dry ; in 
what instances are weights assigned for measures, 
or vice versa ? 

Corn is sold by the long barrel, and short barrel ; 
the short one is, of wheat, twenty stone ; bere and 
barley, sixteen stone; oats, fourteen stone; rape, 
sixteen stone, (sometimes the buyer wrangles the 
farmer out of more,) bran four stone. The long 
barrel is twice the weight of the short. Though 
the gentlemen of the county admit the inconve- 
nience in moving such large sacks as contain 
the long barrel, yet not the smallest exertion is 
made to abolish them, and some are even so touchy 
on the customs of their country, however ridiculous, 
that they will not allow them to be erroneous, and 
say a long barrel is better than a short one, &c. &c. 
In Kihush wheat and oats are sold by the stone 
of 14 lbs. which would be the best method of 
selling every article, until we have some regulation 
to adjust ail weights by decimals. Hides and tallow 
2 z 2 are 



'356 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

are sold by the stone of 1 6 lbs. Potatoes are usually 
sold by the bushel, but a previous agreement is 
made how many stone the bushel shall contain 
(ridiculous !) ; for in some parts of the county it 
weighs 6 stone 6 lbs. in others 16, 18, and 20 stone, 
and the weights even differ in summer and winter ; 
in summer they give only 16 lbs. to the stone, but 
in winter allow IS lbs. to make amends for dirt. 
The barrel differs on either side of Ardsallas river ; 
on the south side it is six bushels of ten stone 
each, whilst on the north side eight bushels of ten 
stone are given, and near Limerick potatoes are 
sold by the bushel of 8 st. Slbs., and six bushels to 
the barrel. 

Wool 16 lbs. to the stone; feathers 16 lbs. to the 
stone; these are procured mostly by plucking the 
geese three times every summer, those for fattening 
excepted. Four-pence is usually paid for the fea- 
thers of each goose at every time of plucking ; 
good feathers are usually sold for about a guinea 
per stone of 16 lbs. 

Barrel of malt 12 stone; this is perhaps the 
only thing, that should be sold by measure only ; 
selling by weight is a premium on bad malt, the 
worst always weighing most. In some places they 
have a measure called a skibbet ; it contains two 
bushels or seven stone of" oats. 

Great abuses are practised at markets, and at some 

stores. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 357 

stores, in the weighing of corn ; frequently the 
weights are of stones of various sizes, pieces of iron, 
or lead, or mutilated weights. In fact the seller 
does not well know what they weigh, as very few 
have scales at home, and even, if he had, little 
notice would be taken by the infallible clerk of 
the scales. Various allowances must be made for 
sacks, dirt, &c. &c. &c, and the ipse dixit of the 
person, who attends the scales, must be a law to 
the poor farmer; as sacks are of such various weights, 
the fairest way is to weigh ail the full sacks, and, 
when they are emptied, throw them all into one 
scale, and deduct their weight from the gross one. 
It is generally thought, that two of our barrels 
are equal to an English quarter, but it is not so, 
for two of our barrels of wheat weigh 560 lbs., 
whilst the English quarter weighs but 516 lbs. 

The yard and the handle differ in many places, 
according as the rule, by which they measure, 
varies ; the yard ought to be thirty-six inches, and 
the handle twenty-seven inches long. In the county 
of Galway the handle is thirty inches, and in 
Limerick only twenty-one inches, in some parts of 
Kilkenny twenty-four inches. It is in the power 
of magistrates and church-wardens to take up frau- 
dulent weights and measures, but of what use is 
a power they have not the honesty to exert? 

When 



358 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

When they are buying for themselves, they look 
sharp enough. 

Very great abuses are practised in the mea- 
surement of lime ; the statute lime-barrel should 
contain forty gallons of 217/^ cubic inches or five 
cubic feet : in many places probably half that 
measure is not given, particularly at Nutfield. 

Sect. 28. Morals, manners, and customs of the 
people. 

To shew that a deplorable laxity of morals prevails, 
I need only refer my readers to the section on roads ; 
they will there see a specimen of those of the 
higher ranks ; and for a sample of those in the 
middling and lower ranks I must send them to Ennis 
on a Sunday morning ; there they will see shops 
open, goods hanging at the doors for sale, stand- 
ings in the streets, timber for sale leaning against 
the sessions- house, in short every appearance of 
business as there was on the previous market day ; 
and many neighbouring ladies defer their shopping 
until that day, after paying their devotions to 
heaven, totally regardless of the fourth command- 
ment. Had I not frequently seen magistrates sharing 
in this monstrous abuse of the sabbath, I could 
not have thought there was one in the town j it 

surely 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 359 

surely would be a meritorious act of the Lord 
Chancellor to supersede the abetters of such gross 
impiety. 

The children, even infants, in this town are par- 
ticularly wicked, and the ears (not of the clergy, 
magistrates, or church-wardens) areconstantly grated 
by the most shocking and novel cursing and 
swearing. ; 

A curious custom prevails in a part of this county; 
when a beast is slaughtered, the smith claims, and 
in some instances receives the head of the beast; 
formerly it was more general, but some have sense 
enough to refuse such a sacrifice to Vulcan; pro- 
bably the custom originated in a remuneration for 
the use of his sledge and his sinewy arm in knock- 
ing down the beast ; however it may have been 
introduced, it is or was practised lately in the 
Western isles, for Dr. Johnson in his Tour, page 
183, informs us, that the smith has the head, the 
piper the udder, (how appropriate !) the weaver and 
others so many pieces, that a small share falls to 
the laird. 

In many places gentlemen are called by the coun- 
try people by their christian names, without any of 
those additions, which modern pride expects from 
inferiors; on the road to Skarriff, I enquired from 
a poor woman, who lived in a gentleman's house 
mthin view; she said, "Charley;" pray who is 

Charley ? 



S60 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

Charley ? " Arrah don't you know Charley ? Why 
you must be a stranger in the country, or you'd 
know Charley O'Callaghan," meaning Mr. O'Cal- 
laghan of St. Catharine's. 

I saw hounds hunting near Spansel-hill on the 
19th of August, and all the corn standing! 

In no part of Ireland is hospitality more prac- 
tised than in this county. I should be most un- 
grateful indeed, if I did not feel and acknowledge 
it ; I wish I could say so much for my mare ; 
for, whilst I have had every attention "paid to my 
comfort in the parlour, she poor creature has often 
after a long journey been obliged to go to bed 
without her supper of oats : I am totally at a loss 
to account for this^ which is by no means peculiar 
to this county ; it may be found in Galway 
and elsewhere. You will be the more welcome 
the more wine you drink, yet six-pence worth of 
oats will be denied to your horse. I would advise 
no person to travel without a servant, and a sharp 
fellow too. If your horse is turned to grass at night, 
in all probability he will be sent to the deer-park, 
the calf- park, or stone paddock, places proverbi- 
ally bare ; not one house in ten has either oats 
or straw in summer, and frequently but little hay. 
A strange custom prevails in this county, and 
indeed in most parts of Ireland, (a remnant 
of feudal times ;) if a poor man has business to 

transact 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 361 

transact with a gentleman, instead of coming up 
to the door, and sending in a servant with his 
message, he loiters about the door, and the stables, 
or frequently waits to catch his honor on the 
road from his house ; thus losing his time at per- 
haps a very busy season. Frequently poor people, 
and sometimes wealthy ones, that come to pay 
their rent, are treated in this manner. I have 
often thought, that gentlemen seemed to take a 
pride in seeing and shewing so many dependants 
about their doors; if not, why not dispatch them 
immediately? 

The men are now scarcely ever barefooted, ex- 
cept they are working in bogs, or other wet 
places, and the women not so much as formerly; 
they usually walk to market barefooted, but, 
when they come near the town, always wash 
their feet, put on their shoes and stockings, and 
adjust their dress like their superiors. 

Very great use is made of mules and asses, for 
carrying baskets, and small loads, such as poor 
people usually load them with: for such persons, 
as are not able to keep a horse, they are a great 
convenience. It is astonishing, what a load some 
of these little animals (asses) will carry, frequently 
above 24 stone, much more than their own weight; 
and often a large stone is added to the load, to 
balance one of the baskets: these kinds of loads 
3 a are 



362 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

are called up-loads. Though these kinds of loads 
are useful to poor people, it is ridiculous to see 
them so much used by those, who could very 
well afford to buy a cart, which with a moderate 
sized horse would very easily draw 128 stone, 
or 16 cwt. : but the cart must be got from Dub- 
lin, from the Implement manufactory on the North- 
wall ; for a cart made in the country, not being 
constructed on any principle, would not carry 
half that weight with the same ease to the horse. 

It is very much the custom to make sacks for 
corn of a most unwieldy length, and frequently 
to load their small horses so heavily as to injure 
and sometimes break their backs; they have the 
further inconvenience of being difficult to move; 
none but the strongest men dare attempt it, and 
even these are often injured in their backs; but 
all-powerful custom reconciles them to it, and the 
example of their betters confirms it. 

The Irish peasantry have often been accused, 
by their polite and travelled neighbours, and by 
absentees, of almost every vice incident to human 
nature. If this even was the case, could it be 
wondered at for a moment, if the extreme igno- 
rance, in which they are reared, were considered? 
The poor people themselves are so sensible of this, 
that every man, that can possibly spare the mo- 
ney, gives his children such education, bad as it 

is, 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 363 

is, as he can procure for such a trifle as is 
usually paid at country schools. Can it be sur- 
prising, after reading the list of Irish classics, 
which 1 have before detailed, that they should 
believe in fairies, hobgoblins, witches, Will o'the 
wisp, ghbsts, and a multitude of legendary tales, 
which old women are fond of relating? It is 
rather astonishing they are so free from vice. 

Many pagan rites still remain; and the poor 
ignorant native little thinks, when he is dancing 
round his bonfire, or dressing his May-bush, that 
he is using the same ceremonies the worshippers 
of Baal did. 

In this county, as elsewhere, it is much the 
custom to put children to nurse with some healthy 
cottager; fine ladies don't like either the trouble, 
or to spoil their shapes; as this unnatural custom 
does not take place so much in England, it may 
help to account for the superior prolificacy of our 
Irish ladies. A great inconvenience attends this 
custom ; the nurse and indeed her whole family 
think you are obliged to assist them, whilst they 
live; in fact there is no shaking them off: they 
in general endeavour to avoid taking any money 
as payment for nursing, but they contrive by coJ- 
lops, (grazing cattle,) wool, corn, potatoes, &c. 
&c. to get thrice more than a liberal allowance 
in money would amount to; and indeed many of 
3 a 2 the 



364 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

the better kind of people would rather pay three 
times the amount in this unsatisfactory way, than 
in cash. It must at the same time be admitted, 
that the poor man's family generally retain a 
great affection for the child during life. 

Wakes, quite different from what are so called 
in England, still continue to be the' disgrace of 
the country. As it would be thought a great 
mark of disrespect not to attend at the house 
where the corpse lies, every person makes it a 
point, especially women, to shew themselves; and 
when they first enter the house, they set up the 
most hideous but dry-eyed yell, called the Irish 
cry; i:his, however, lasts but a short time. The 
night is usually spent in singing, not mournful 
dirges, but merry songs, and in amusing them- 
selves with different small plaj's* dancing, drink- 
ing, and often fighting, &c. 

Hurling matches or goals I have mentioned 
before. Chairs are meetings at night in some 
whiskey-house, where they dance, drink, fight, 
and frequently settle the politics of the county, 
&c. These two last kinds of meetings are ruinous 
to the young people of both sexes: it is nothing 
uncommon for servants of both sexes to stay out 
all night; the general custom of leaving outside 
doors open at night gives great facility to this 
breach of trust. Jt is by no means unusual for 

the 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 365 

the gentleman of the house to lock himself tip 
carefully in his bedchamber, and leave the key 
in both street and back-door; frequently there is 
no lock to either. Surely they cannot blame young 
people for taking advantage of so very reprehen- 
sible a neglect; in many cases, that indolence, 
which pervades the whole county, is the cause 
of it. 

It is the custom of the women of this county, 
in common with I believe every other in Ireland, 
to walk at some distance behind their husbands. 
Paddy, let him be ever so fond of his rib, would 
think it a mark of disrespect, if she walked by his 
side. 



Sect. 29. Concluding Observations, 

The county of Clare, which is the subject of 
this work, seems to be distinguished, by one pe- 
culiar circumstance, from those parts of Ireland, 
that have hitherto fallen under my observation. 
That circumstance is, that it contains such an. 
intermixture of soils, from the deep corcass to 
the light gravelly substance, as to include a re- 
gular gradation of soils, fitted to produce all the 
necessaries, and even luxuries, for j;he various 
purposes of civilized life. 

There 



*J66 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

There appears to be in this margin, I may call 
it, of the Atlantis ocean, every species of ground 
rising in a regular chain of productive fertility 
from the craggs of Burrin to the fattening pas- 
tures of Tradree. A traveller, who takes pleasure 
in contemplating on the wonderful diversity of 
forms, in which nature delights to indulge, cannot 
but be struck with the astonishing contrast between 
the cliff, that frowns over the vale of Glanaragud, 
where the goat (the chamois of these Irish alps,) 
can hardly find a scanty blade of grass to browse 
on, and the banks of the Shannon, the richness of 
whose quality is such as can scarcely be eaten 
down by the most numerous herds of oxen, or 
exhausted by the successive tillage of many years. 

Although to treat of the manners, customs, or 
general religion of this county, not being given 
to me in commission, does not therefore regularly 
form any part of this work, yet I trust I shall 
not be censured, if I impart my sentiments on 
them, as far as my transitory residence in this 
county enables me to do. Should I not be a^ 
comprehensive on these topics, as their importance 
demands, the candour of the reader will consider, 
that a mere bird of passage can only pick up a 
few superficial grains of knowledge; but to be par- 
ticular or accurate can be the result alone of per- 
manent residence, and of that variety of commu- 

nications^ 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 361 

nications, which, I regret to have to say, were 
"withheld from me by many of the clergy, who 
possessed the necessary means. 

The manners of the inhabitants from the lowest 
to the highest class are marked by a civility (the 
few exceptions, that I unfortunately met with, do 
not "alter my opinion) and readiness to oblige. 
There is not any considerable disparity of con- 
dition ; the general run of those, who occupy 
the rank of gentry, appear to be at no great dis- 
tance from each other in point of fortune, as a 
number of the great land proprietors are absentees, 
spending in Dublin and London the produce of 
their large rentals, which, if laid out in the county 
they belong to, would give comfortable bread to 
the unemployed tradesmen and happiness not felt 
before. 

Hospitality, for which this county, as I am in- 
formed, was always remarkable, still hails the coming 
guest, but on a more rational and improved prin- 
ciple than formerly, as deep and excessive drinking 
ji exploded from all genteel tables ; on the other 
hand they have not learned from their neighbours 
to put the cork in the bottle, when they think their 
guests have had enough. 

The materials for exercising this social virtue 
are to be found no where in greater abundance 
or perfection, or on cheaper terms. The western 

x ocean, 



368 STATISTICAL SURVEY 

ocean, that flows within fourteen miles of Ennis, 
the county town, supplies every sort of sea-fish, 
that is known or desired either as a necessary or 
a luxury in Great Britain ; every kind of shell- 
fish is also to be had in great plenty aud per- 
fection, including the Pouldoody oysters, that for 
flavour are universally allowed to be superior io 
any in the world. Salmon, pike, trout, and eels 
are obtained in great perfection and profusion from 
the Shannon and several other rivers in this county, 
and from the numerous lakes, that present them- 
selves in different directions. 

Beef, mutton, pork, and poultry are also very 
cheap, and, except the last, very good. The ve- 
getable market of Ennis is one of the best I have 
seen in a country town. 

The wild fowl of this county, particularly in 
the barony of Inchiquin, are remarkable for being 
well fed, and for a high and at the same time a 
sweet flavour. 

Formerly this county contained a number of 
deer-parks, and the venison was esteemed exqui-P^ 
sitely fine,* as the heathy grass, the hazel copse, 
and all that wild herbage, that deer love to feed 
on (and without which they are not as good as 

mutton,) 

* Mr. Brady of Raheens still maintains the credit of his venison, 
-which has been always in high estimation, and he still keeps up his 
pack of buck-hounds. 



OF THE COUNTY OF CLARE. 369 

mutton,) abounded in many parts; but there are 
few inclosures kept up for deer now, as the rise 
on lands has so greatly encreased their value, that 
what few years ago was allotted for a deer-park, 
as rough mountainous ground worth little or nothing, 
if set at this day, fetches a very great rent j 
consequently venison has become proportionably 
scarce, few wishing to pay at least half a crown 
a pound for it, the rate at which I am convinced 
every person, that feeds on five years old buck, 
eats it. 

It is with great pleasure I am now to close 
these observations with a remark as to the cor- 
diality, that subsists in this county between the 
Protestants and the Catholics ; they intermarry ac- 
cording to their inclination and circumstances, 
without any impediment from a difference of per- 
suasion, and live in habits of sincere friendship 
and good will, free from that bigotry and rancour, 
that tend to the ruin and disgrace of other parts 
of Ireland, and which under the pretence of re- 
ligion violate its pure and benevolent precepts. 



3 B APPENDIX. 



APPENDIX. 



In the Statistical Survey of the county of Kil- 
dare, a new method of planting potatoes is men- 
tioned as having been discovered by the very in- 
telligent author. He plants whole potatoes in squares 
at three feet asunder, and uses only about forty 
cart loads of dung to a plantation acre. The 
earth is thrown up to. the potatoe stalks as they 
advance in their growth, as long as any can be 
found of a good quality, until the hillocks are 
sometimes upwards of two feet high. By this 
method a great saving of seed is made, and they 
can be landed with the plough, or by the cottier's 
wife and children ; and this is so much more cheaply 
done than in the usual lazy-bed way, that the 
expence of producing a barrel of potatoes of twenty 
stone, according to this improved method, amounts 
only to about 8d. whilst that of a barrel in the 
lazy-bed way amounts to 4s. 9d. ; the quantity pro- 



3 B 



duced 




2 APPENDIX. 

duced in the bank method is stated in the Survey, 
as follows, per acre, 

" Rednose kidney, 

" English reds, 

"Red bottoms (a new ^ 
species of apple. 

" Lewis Mansergh, Esq. Athy, (apples) 

" Mr. Ryder, Bray, (apples) - - 115 

N. B. These were neglected to be landed. 

" C. P. Doyne, Esq. Queen's county, had from 
n thirty-seven potatoes, occupying a square 
" perch at four and a half feet apart, fifty 
11 stone of potatoes, or per acre, - 400 

li Lennon, one of my labourers cultivated half 
' : a rood, of which he took much care in land- 
" ing ; he has upwards of a stone from each 
u of his banks, English reds, that is per acre, 400 

Improved cider, or farmer's wine. 

" Take new cider from the press, mix it with 
honey till it bears an egg ; boil it gently for a 
quarter of an hour, (but not in an iron pot,) take off 
the scum as it rises, let it cool, then barrel it, with- 
out filling the vessel quite full ; bottle it off in March. 
In six weeks afterwards it will be ripe for use, and 

as 



APPENDIX. 3 

as strong as Madeira. The longer it is kept after- 
wards, the better." 

Particular care must be taken, that the cider be 
of the best kind, and that the honey be perfectly 
free from wax. 

In several parts of this wqrk I have endeavoured 
to impress on the minds of land proprietors the 
ruinous tendency of setting lands to unimproving 
middlemen, and of employing agents totally ignorant 
of country business to transact their affairs. The 
following extract from the Agricultural Magazine, 
p. 272, comes so strongly and practically in aid of 
my reiterated assertions, that I beg leave to in- 
sert it here. 

The estate of Rathdangan, in the county of Wick- 
low, improved by occupying tenants. 

By the Rev. Arthur Conolly, of Donard near 
Baltinglass. 

TO THE EDITOR. 

" Sir, March 1798. 

" I send you the scheme proposed for the im- 
provement of Mrs. Hamilton's estate of Rath- 
dangan, and add a few lines to explain more par- 
ticularly its design and success. In April 1806, I 
was requested by Mrs. Hamilton to take possession 
of an estate she had in the county of Wicklow, and 
to assist her in resetting it with my advice. It 

had 



4 APPENDIX. 

had been set for 31 years to two head-tenants, 
one of whom had bought the other out long be- 
fore the expiration of the lease. I went there, 
and took regular possession, and in doing that 
beheld, both with regard to the land, houses, and 
inhabitants, such a scene of desolation, wretched- 
ness, and misery, as I had before no conception 
of. Above thirty poor families lived under the 
head-tenant, who was an unfeeling, overbearing 
savage, in hovels not fit for swine, in the most 
squalid poverty. Struck with horror at this affect- 
ing scene, I ventured to propose to Mrs. Hamil- 
ton the annexed scheme, which, contrary to the 
advice of her agent, arid other persons, whom she 
consulted, (who deemed it visionary and imprac- 
ticable,) she adopted. At the end of the four 
years, mentioned in this scheme, she was so 
pleased with its success, that she continued the 
premiums, that were then to cease, above two 
years more. There are now on it thirty-two neat 
convenient farm-houses, built of lime and stone, 
and the land is in a very high state of cultiva- 
tion and improvement, far superior to any thing 
in that country ; the inhabitants are decent, regu- 
lar, and content, and no taint whatever of that 
dangerous spirit, which too generally prevails in 
this kingdom, (and from which the county of 
Wicklow is far from being free,) has reached that 

happy 



APPENDIX. 5 

happy spot. I should add that, besides the pre- 
miums mentioned, there is one of a guinea-and-a-* 
half for the best plantation of that useful tree, 
the sallow ; a guinea for the second best ; and 
haif-a-guinea for the third: in consequence, most 
of the houses are half concealed in shade. The 
estate lies in a very wild country, about thirty 
miles from Dublin ; to which, for want of a more 
convenient market, they send that part of the 
produce of their land, butter and bacon, of which 
they make their rent. The rents are paid with a 
punctuality unknown in that country." 

Arthur Conolli/. 

fleport of the state of the Farm, llth April, 1799. 

u Though the estate above-mentioned has been 
cruelly ravaged and plundered by the insurgents, 
and much harrassed by the free quarters, that pre- 
vailed last summer, there is not now due an 
arrear equal to a seventh part of the year's rent. 
There is also strong presumptive proof, (such as 
no houses having been destroyed by the army, nor 
one of the inhabitants punished, though near (five 
miles east of) Baltinglass, where a very watchful 
seye is kept over the people,) the inhabitants re- 
sident and improving their farms, that this spot, 
though surrounded by as disturbed districts as 

any 




6 APPENDIX. 

an} r in the kingdom, continues well affected and 
peaceable.'* A. C. 



A scheme proposed for the improvement of the lands 
of Rathdangan. 

10th April, 1786. 

u Mrs. Hamilton's estate of Rathdangan is moun- 
tainous, and in a very rude neglected state; in 
want of buildings, drains, and inclosures; on all 
these accounts it requires a numerous tenantry, for 
which it seems well calculated, from its abounding 
in good fuel, water, and being well situated for a 
manufacture, particularly the woollen one, the spin- 
ning branch of which is tolerably well understood. 

According to my judgment, aided by the best 
information I could procure, it is in its present 
state not worth more than ,£250 yearly; nor do I 
think, that it would set for more than that sum, if 
so much, to one or two head-tenants; but I am 
assured, that the present tenants, if assisted for a 
few years, will pay with comfort what they have 
proposed, which is ,£317, will thrive, and raise the 
value of the estate. My scheme for the improve- 
ment is as follows. Buildings should be the first 
object; inclosures, which, if made with judgment, 

will 



APPENDIX. 7 

will serve as drains, the second ; manuring with 
lime, the third. I would recommend, that Mrs. 
Hamilton should determine on places for houses of 
two sorts, proportioned to the different farms. I 
shall send, should she choose it, plans of such, 
which I think would answer; that on the tenants 
drawing the stones, clearing the foundation, and 
consenting to attend the mason, Mrs. H. should 
pay for the mason-work and lime, which would 
come to about six pounds the larger, and four 
pounds the smaller houses, by contract. I would 
propose, that six of these houses should be built 
in each year after the first, which would come to 
about thirty pounds; at the end of four years 
this expence would cease, as there would then 
be a house to nearly every thirty acres of land. 
I would apply the sum of ten pounds, yearlv, to 
defray half the expence of inclosures, made in the 
situation and manner appointed by a person fixed 
on by Mrs. H. ; this expence I think would also 
cease in four years. I should also propose ten 
pounds, yearly, in premiums for liming ; this last 
expence, I should think, it might be prudent to 
continue. 

Thus by being content to receive for four years 

a sum, which would exceed what any oppressive 

and rapacious land-jobber could pay, Mrs. H. would 

raise her rent-roll, considerably improve her estate, 

3 c diffuse 



S APPENDIX. 

diffuse an air of cultivation and plenty over a bar- 
ren wild, promote a spirit of decency and order, 
and make the industrious peasant's heart sing for 

joy- 
it is by no means my idea, that Mrs. H. should 

enter into any engagements relative to her boun- 
ties; she ought to have them entirely in her own 
power; and they will operate more powerfully, 
when she can make a difference between honesty 
and dishonesty, industry and sloth. 

Though I should be happy to oblige Mrs. H., 
the offer I now make her, of taking it on myself 
to see, that her encouragements are not thrown 
away, is by no means complimentary, but selfish; 
my means of doing good are much confined : my 
avocations will often lead me into that neighbour- 
hood, and I must be well repaid for any trouble I 
may have, by riding through a village instead of 
a waste, and in seeing happiness take place of 
misery. A. C. 

Note by the editor. — This plan, so judiciously 
conceived by Mr. Conolly, and generously sup- 
ported by Mrs. Hamilton, forms an excellent exam- 
ple for other proprietors to follow. Each occu- 
pier being accommodated with as much ground, 
secured by lease, as he is fully able to manage, 
is the surest mode of advancing the improvement 

of 



APPENDIX. 9 

of land, and the prosperity of the tenant, parti- 
cularly when favoured by the attention and coun- 
tenance of a benevolent proprietor." J. H. 
What a treasure would such a benevolent cler- 
gyman be in the county of* Clare? He would find 
ample means to bestow his wishes on a numerous 
part of the tenantry of this county, who are 
precisely in the same situation,* under that scourge 
pf Ireland, an unimproving, unfeeling middle-man. 



JList of rare Plants found in the county of Clare 
by Dr. Wade, and Mr. Mackay. 

Sea reed, or sea matweed, Arundo arenaria. 
On the sandy beach on the sea coast of Burrin 
mountains. Cattle feed on it in winter; it is used 
for thatching houses, and will last for upwards 
of twenty years. 

Squinancy-wort, or small woodroofT, Asperula 
cynanchica. Plentiful along the sand hills on the 
western coast, and very abundant on the limestone 
rocks near Corrofin, and in other parts of Clare. 

Least mountain bedstraw, Galium pusillum. 
Abundant amongst the limestone rocks at Mash- 
erinraheen, near Corrofin. 

Spring gentian, Gentiana verna. Plentiful on 

the estate of Bindon Blood, Esq. at Glaniny, near 

3 c 2 the 



10 APPENDIX. 

the bay of Gal way, on a limestone gravelly soil; 
also near Magherinrabeen, between that and Kil- 
macduagh church, in the county of Galway. 

Autumnal gentian, Gentiana amarella. Very 
plentiful on a limestone soil, between Gort and 
Corrofin, and in other places in the county of 
Clare. 

Broad-leaved water parsnep, Sium latifolium. 
Plentiful on the side of the river Fergus, a little 
above the bridge at Ennis; also in ditches, near 
Corrofin. 

Creeping water parsnep, Sium repens. In a 
marsh on the river Fergus, a little above the 
bridge at Ennis. 

Flowering rush, Butomus umbellatus. In ditches 
near d'Esterre's bridge, seven miles from Limerick, 
on the road to Clare ; and in ditches near Cor- 
rofin, in great abundance. 

Red-berried trailing arbutus, Arbutus uva ursi. 
Plentiful on the limestone mountains in the ba- 
rony of Burrin, along with Dryas octopetala. 

Shrubby cinquefoil, Potentilla fruticosa. On low 
swampy Aground, near the bottom of the Burrin 
mountains, the estate of Bindon Blood, Esq.; 
plentiful at Magherinraheen, near Corrofin. The 
ground it generally grows in is covered in winter 
with water, that gushes up from beneath, and 
then gets the name of Turlou^hs. 

Mountain 



APPENDIX. ii 

Mountain avens, Dryas octopetala. This plant 
covers whole mountains of limestone on the estate 
of Bindon Blood, Esc}, in the barony of Burrin r 
where there is scarcely any other vegetable to 
be seen. It has been observed before in that 
country. 

White water-lily, Nymphjca alba. Common in 
the lake of Inchicjuin, near Corrofin, and many 
other places. 

Great spearwort, Ranunculus lingua, In a marsh 
by the side of the river Fergus, a little above 
the bridge of Ennis. 

Nep, or cat mint. Nepeta cataria. On the road 
side, north of the Shannon, opposite to Lime- 
rick. 

Hairy tower mustard, Turritis hirsuta. Plen~ 
tiful on the rocks at Clifden. 

Shining crane's-bill, Geranium lucidum. This 
plant covers many of the thatched houses in the 
town of Ennis, where it makes a very beautiful 
appearance. 

Musk thistle, Carduus nutans. Found sparingly 
on the north road side, between Gort and Cor- 
rofin, in August, 1806* 

Common frog bit, Hydrocharis morsus ran®. In 
a marsh, by the side of the river Fergus, a little 
above the bridge of Ennis. 

Alpine club moss, Lycopodium selagenoides* 

In 



12 APPENDIX. 

In moist grounds, near Glaniny, bottom of Bur- 
rin mountains, in great abundance. 

Marsh aspidium, or polypody, Aspidium the- 
lypteris. In a marsh, near the river Fergus, a 
little above the bridge of Ennis. 

Common spleenwort, Scolopendrium ceterach. 
On limestone rocks and walls, near Corrofin, and 
other places in the county of Clare, in great 
abundance. 

Stinking iris, or Gladwyn, or roast beef plant, 
Iris foetid issi ma. Ennis church-yard. 

Cock's-foot panick grass. A few specimens of 
this very scarce grass were found by Dr. Wade, 
on the sand hills of Dough, near Lehinch, 

Yellow loose strife, Lysimachia vulgaris. Upon 
the east bank of a lough, adjoining the lands of 
Drumkevan, near Ennis. 

Great burnet saxifrage, Pimpinella magna. About 
the high road, Rosstrevor, Co. Clare. 

Red whortle-berry, or crow-berry, Vaccinium 
vitis Idpea. The rocky mountains of the county 
of Clare are covered with this very delicate ever- 
green. 

Orpine, or live long, Sedum telephium. Covers 
the walls of an old fort, called Cahiromond, near 
Ki I fen or a. 

Pennyroyal, Mentha pulegium. The church- 
yard of Ennis furnishes it in tolerable quantity. 

Wood 



APPENDIX. 13 

Wood betony, Betonica officinalis. In the wood, 
by the river side, at Corronanagh. 

Daisy-leaved ladyVsmock, Cardamine bellidifolia. 
This was found on the rocks about Finto. 

Sea stock, Cheiranthus sinuatus. This fine scarce 
plant was found, at high-water mark, about the 
sand hills of Dough, but sparingly, flowering the 
latter end of August. 

Marsh-mallow, Althaea officinalis. In prodigious 
plenty in all the salt marshes about the rivers 
Shannon and Fergus. 

Mountain cudweed, Gnaphalium dioicum. Abun- 
dant on the Burrin mountains. 

Yellow mountain pansy, Viola lutea. On the 
sand hills of Dough and Ballinguddy. 

Lizard satyrium, or orchis, Satyrium hircinum. 
This very rare and tall orchis is to be met with 
in very shady situations, among shrubs, producing 
abundant flowers in the beginning of August, in 
the barony of Tullagh. The flowers are said to 
smell like a goat; hence, I suppose, the trivial 
name. 



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